


Two Spiders: Away From Home

by Vendetta543



Series: Two Spiders on a Web - A MCU Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen Crossover Series [3]
Category: Spider-Gwen (Comics), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25067068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vendetta543/pseuds/Vendetta543
Summary: No good deed goes unpunished. After risking their lives helping the heroes of another earth defeat Thanos the Spider Six are find themselves stuck in another dimension. Watch them struggle with pop culture, insane(ly low) crime rates and the horror of actually being treated like the heroes they are.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy
Series: Two Spiders on a Web - A MCU Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen Crossover Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1328549
Comments: 22
Kudos: 51





	1. Switching Perspectives

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said before, here's the sequel to Two Spiders on a Web with Gwen (and a few others) trapped in the MCU. The story will focus on some exploration of the MCU world along with incorporating an alternate version of the Far from Home movie. As always leave reviews, criticisms if possible and hopefully you all enjoy this :) I don't have a good grasp on the MCU characters so this'll take a bit of finagling to work.
> 
> Credit to duncke for the title.
> 
> Side Note - Anyone have any suggestions for a better summary? I always suck at making those...

2 months. Time sure flied.

2 months since they helped save this dimension, since they all got trapped here. Gwen kinda blamed herself for that. Sure she didn't regret coming here to help Peter and the rest of this dimension - and despite their grumbling she was sure the others felt the same - but that didn't change the fact that they were stuck here. No way back and the only chance for communication was telling the other Web Warriors to give their friends and family chat-only versions of their portal watches.

Gwen was lucky. Time passed linearly across dimensions: one second here was one second there. That didn't mean that they were all in the same year, though. Noir was in the 30's and Peni was over a thousand years into the future, just to name a couple. This earth and hers were pretty similar. It was 2023 here while on her earth it was 2018 - a five year gap, coincidentally enough. She also found out she was just three hours ahead of them, which made talking pretty convenient.

Aside from that things were...okay. Sure they were trapped and everything but Mrs. Stark was pretty generous. She set them up with a fancy place in Midtown that they could stay in (rent-free!) till they found a way back. It didn't take them long to set up and make it a decent base of operations for however long they were going to stay here. Gwen had to admit, it was some pretty nice digs.

Not that she stayed over there. She had...different arrangements.

The early morning sun shined through the covers and she flinched softly, "Mmmgh..." Gwen narrowed her eyes and glared at the small gap before turning around and grabbing for the phone on a nearby nightstand. 9:13 am, meaning it was about 6 back home. Too early to call home, "Ugh..." Grunting again, she swung her bare feet over to the ground and stood up with a stretch.

Opening the door, she was met with the sight of May cooking (read: burning) today's breakfast, "Hey, May!" She yawned and grinned when she saw the woman's briefly annoyed look shift to utter relief, "Need some help there?"

"Yes!" She threw Gwen an apron and the blonde slid over next to her, "I was trying to make pasta and it just..." She made a vague gesture. Gwen had seen its use a lot in the 2 months she spent here. It ranged from 'I burned dinner so we gotta go get take-out' to 'so I may or may not accidentally gone back to our old apartment and freaked out the current owners'. The latter happened more times than Gwen would've thought.

On the bright side she made friends with the family. The Millers were even coming over for dinner next week.

"So what do you think? Still think we can save it?" May turned over the pan filled with burnt noodles and Gwen made an exagerrated vomiting noise, "That bad?"

"Let's just say I'm pretty sure even Spider powers won't save me or Pete." They dumped the pasta to the nearby trashcan, "What about omelettes? Pretty sure even we can't fuck up eggs..."

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure we'll find some way." May grinned and bumped Gwen's hip playfully. It was...odd. The May she remembered was old with a head full of white hair and a frumpy updo that screamed classic. This May was different. Not that much younger - Gwen still couldn't believe she was 52 with the way she looked - but she had an energy the May from back home didn't. If it wasn't for her oversized glasses and penchant for oldie sweaters she would've taken her for 40 at most.

There was no Ben here, like Peter said. Gwen would've loved to see what he was like if he could bag someone like this May.

"Pete still sleeping?"

"Yeah. Late night out with the decathlon team." May shook her head, "He said they were meeting up again later then he was gonna go do his thwip thing after. You going with him?"

"Mmm, maybe. I gotta check in on the rest of the group too." Peni, Noir, Mayday, Jessica and Scarlet (cause calling her MJ was kinda weird...) lived pretty close by on swinging distance. She checked in on them at least once a week; mostly to get updates on the whole 'going home' thing and partially to see how they were doing. The more weeks passed the more they antsy they got. Especially Noir, Scarlet and Mayday. Jessica and Peni treated it more like a vacation from work once they actually managed to re-establish contact.

Fifteen minutes later and Peter was walking out of his room, hair mussed up and yawning. Gwen bit her tongue to keep from saying anything...untoward. So...they didn't exactly tell May the two of them were dating. It felt wrong considering they met her after the funeral and after that they just couldn't find the right time. They couldn't just drop it over dinner, right? 'Oh May this meatloaf is really great and not burnt! Oh by the way I screwed your nephew. Would you pass the sauce?'

So they agreed to not have any PDA while they were here. Not till they found the right time to tell her exactly what the deal was and how far they'd gone.

He just...made it really, really hard when he came out with hair she just wanted to grab and-

Gwen shook her head and forced a grin, "Morning, sleepyhead!" she shouted. _Christ_ , what was wrong with her? Sure it'd been months since they got up to anything but the occasional kiss but could she really not keep it in her pants?

"Mornin'..." He yawned again. Gwen tried not to think about how well that shirt fit him. She was just supposed to be his friend. The Spider-Woman who helped him out when he got trapped so it was totally cool to return the favor. Nothing else.

Breakfast was nice, as it always was. They talked about anything that came to mind from Peter's decathlon meets to whatever criminals they bagged that night. Turned out? Not so much. Apparently Peter was telling the truth when he said this place didn't have non-stop muggings and the prisons really did keep the criminals in. Even the one criminal they caught a month ago - some dude calling himself Beetle - was still serving his time. Back home he would've been out at least twice already.

It was weird. Not in a _bad_ way, but she just knew she was getting spoiled on it. Once she got back home she'd be expecting Stilt-Man to stay in prison instead of breaking out by the weekend.

"So you've got a nerd thing later?" Gwen asked.

" _Decathlon_ thing, yeah." He rolled his eyes, "We're gonna have a trip to Europe in a couple months and we figured we could prepare together."

Oh right, the Europe trip. It was supposed to be a reward for both new students and old ones that got hit with 'the blip'. Mostly she found it weird how they called it that, of all things. That'd be like calling the The Holocaust something like 'the disagreement'.

"Already? Dude it's like two months away!"

"Better early than late." He pointed his fork at her, "Why, what do you do when you have a field trip?"

"You don't pack until the night before, you oversleep then you panic and run all the way over there hoping you don't miss the bus. Duh." Granted in her case it was cause she was too busy doing the Spider-Woman thing. Matter of fact that applied to just about every trip they had. She still remembered missing the trip to MJ's cabin and portaling over there...only to end up right over the lake. Stupid frog even got in her shoe.

"That's...a way." Peter laughed.

"She's telling the truth. That's how I met Ben, don't you know? Both of us putting everything off till the last second. We missed the bus and had to hitchike all the way to where we were supposed to go." May smiled fondly at the memory. That was another difference. Even now May and Ben found it hard to talk about their Peter but here May and Peter talked about him so easily. She wished she could do it too.

"See? May's right. Panicking the night before a trip is like a rite of passage!"

"I'll pass, thanks." He kicked her leg under the table gently and she kicked back. It was the best they could do without May getting suspicious, "Hey, you're visiting the others later, right? Could you tell Peni I want my game back? She said she wanted to check out 'low tech' gaming but she still hasn't given it back."

"I'll be sure to pass it along." She turned to May, "What about you, May? More Salvation Army stuff?" She and the the rest of the Spiders were lucky enough to have friends like Mrs. Stark. The other 4 billion people that came back? Not so much. Apparently bringing billions of people back didn't just automatically fix things. Sure there were people with friends and family who were willing to help them out but it wasn't enough. If they didn't have Mrs. Stark helping them out she was pretty sure Peter and May wouldn't have had this apartment now.

"Yeah, we're setting up another fundraiser." May's smile was strained. Even after all the stuff they did there were still people who were out in the streets. Husbands and wives who found out their partners moved on, parents who never saw their kids grow up like that Ant-Man guy. A part of Gwen wondered why Tony didn't just turn back the clock before she remembered his daughter. He couldn't just give her up, and as much as a part of her wanted to cry about the needs of the many she agreed. She couldn't imagine that snap making it so that Peter never arrived in her world.

"Need me or Gwen to show up again?" Peter asked. The two of them did some guest appearances sometimes. Helped people open up their wallets more when bonafide heroes who actually fought that purple sack of shit turned up and did some flips.

"Not for now. You show up too much and people get tired of it," May said, "Thanks for the offer, though."

They went their separate ways after that. Peter with his nerd thing, May to start planning and Gwen to the Spider-Lair. She did a quick runaround patrol, mostly out of habit. The last time she'd seen a crime in progress was over a week ago and that was just a guy who nabbed a bike. Not exactly something that could fill an entire comic issue, if you caught her drift.

She passed by an office building and did a cheeky wave. Back home she was much more popular than before but the whole one year in prison thing, plus all of Jameson's bullshit, still followed her around. Here there was none of that. Peter never got a negative rep and being attached to the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man label meant most of the city was pretty cool with her and the other Spiders.

...Except maybe Noir. Most people just saw him as a crazy guy with a trenchcoat and a gun. That seemed more school shooter-y than Spider-y.

She landed on the side of the apartment building and crawled in through the window, "Honeys, I'm home!" She shouted. She was pretty sure most of them used the window. The door was more decoration than anything.

The place was big - much bigger than the apartment she was staying in, at least - with five rooms for each of the new tenants. She'd been here long enough to see how each Spider decorated their rooms. Noir's and Jessica's were sparse with little in the way of decorations or personalization outside of what was already inside. Peni's was a complete mess, filled to the brim with wires and tech that it more resembled a workshop than an an actual room. She'd even gotten rid of her bed and replaced it with a workbench. If she ever needed to sleep the beanbag or SP/dr's cockpit sufficed.

The one that most reminded her of home was Scarlet's; mostly cause it was what MJ back home had. Posters of (differently named) bands, a guitar propped up on the corner and even a a few vinly records of Taylor Swift; cause apparently she was a universal constant even though the Beetles weren't. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she wasn't actually _her_ MJ.

"Sup, Gwen?" Mayday waved from the dinner table. She was the only on in the apartment's main room. The place definitely looked live in. Like the different rooms each Spider had carved out their own little corner. She ignored the dismantled gun and bullets (Noir's) on the corner along with the neatly stacked row of combat knives (Jessica's) as she walked to where the younger Spider was.

"Hey, 'Day. Where are the others?"

"Noir's out on a case and MJ's doing her...thing." Mayday shifted in her seat awkwardly. Apparently she was bonded to something called the Carnage symbiote, which was bad news judging by the name alone. Despite her flashy costume she apparently fell more in line with Noir's and Jessica's brand of heroism than her and Mayday's. Considering she was an alternate of one of Gwen's best friend and Mayday's mom they didn't like to think about it, "Jessica and Peni are in their rooms."

"Any more luck with the whole 'getting back home' thing?" Not that she was in a particular rush. She wasn't attending college now and with contact re-established she never felt lonely. She just hoped MJ didn't replace her before she got back.

"No..." Mayday stirred her cereal listlessly, "We talked to Dr. Strange but he said he can't do anything right now. Apparently we just have to wait for 'the dimensional barriers to repair themselves'. I think he's pretty happy about it, actually. Last time he saw an alternate dimension this big demon thing called Dormammu tried to take over. Apparently he was even worse than Thanos."

"How'd he stop it?"

"Made a bargain." She stretched her arms above her head and yawned, "So how's it living over with not-dad?"

"Same old. Still haven't told May." She sighed and sat across from her.

"Why? I'm pretty sure she'd be cool with it from what I know about her."

"I know she's cool, it's just..." Gwen paused, trying to find the words, "I dunno, I just wanna know the right time, you know? I'm super cool with May right now and I don't wanna make it awkward with the whole 'I'm sleeping with your nephew' thing."

"You don't wanna make it awkward. She says as she tells his daughter from another dimension that she's sleeping with him."

"That's different! You've been through enough of the alternate dimension thing to know he's not _really_ your dad any more than the other billions of Peters are. For May that's her one and only nephew. Why do you think we haven't told them about you, Jessica or Noir?" Another fib they did. As far as May knew Noir wasn't another version of her nephew, Jessica wasn't a clone of another version and Mayday wasn't her alternate grandchild."

"...Point."

The door and window behind them opened at the same time. Noir walked inside, unmasked face locked in a grimace, while Scarlet crawled through the window with obvious frustration.

"...You two don't look happy," Gwen said.

"Neither of you came back last night. What happened?" Mayday asked.

Noir spoke first, "Case is a wash." He sat on the couch and tossed his mask next to him. Mary Jane sat to his left, rubbing her temples with a sigh, "Got a job to track a guy who was cheating on his dame. I take a couple of pictures, show them to the girl and I get paid. Simple enough."

"I'm guessing something happened?"

"Yeah. Didn't Parker say there weren't many 'heroes' in this place? Cause it sure didn't seem like it." He clicked his tongue, "Apparently the guy was double dipping and got up to more than just cheatin' on his moll. He pissed off some dame in a leather jacket and she punched right through a wall. Got arrested for God only knows what, so the girlfriend wasn't too happy. Apparently she wanted to blackmail him with the photos and she can't exactly do that with him behind bars. Wasted three days for nothing."

"...What about you, Mary Jane?" Mayday asked. Gwen could tell that even now she found it weird to call a version of her mom by her first name.

"Nothing that exciting." She waved a hand through the air and propped her feet up on the table, "I know Peter told us there wasn't much happening here but I thought he was just trying to make it seem less shitty. But he's right - there's _nothing_ happening here. The worst one I ran into was a guy selling dope in an alley. And he wasn't even selling to kids or something so I just left him for the cops."

"And that's...a bad thing?" Gwen asked.

"You're not the one with a whiny symbiote." Yeah, hers didn't talk. She found it kinda weird that Scarlet's did, "Scarlet's getting antsy. Back home you can go to Hell's Kitchen or Yancy Street and chances are you'll find someone doing something that'll land em 20 to life."

"Maybe you shouldn't indulge that thing?" Mayday asked with just a little hint of irritation.

"Save it, Mayday. I've had that talk with my Gwen already. Trust me, this is the best I can do."

"She is kinda right on how barren this place is," Mayday said, "Back home if you don't run into any crime it's cause Dr. Octopus or Canis or whoever is planning something. Here it's apparently normal. It's...weird."

"You think that's weird?" They looked up and saw Jessica and a yawning Peni next to her walking down the stairs. The mecha girl looked like she hadn't slept much, "Was 'lucky' enough to run into a mugging last night. Saved the woman, webbed up the bad guy and...the woman thanks me. She asks for an autograph, asks to take a selfie, it was...creepy. Back home I had a 50-50 shot of getting a grudging thank you or being called a freak."

"That...seems more like there's something wrong with your world than anything," Gwen said. Even in her world she got thanked...about 80% of the time.

"You guys are _all_ weird." Peni plopped down next to Mayday with her own bowl and poured herself a generous helping, "Back in my world I fought monsters like Devilzilla or Scorpiosaurus. Daredevil usually deals with gangs and organized crime."

"Sorry we don't all got fancy robots, kid." Noir scoffed, "What about you, Stacy?"

"No change." Gwen shrugged. Most days ended with her going on patrol (pointless 99% of the time) or just waiting for Peter and May to come back. Mayday suggested finding a job or something to pass the time. Noir was doing the P.I thing, Scarlet worked at a music store, Mayday worked at a store nearby and Jessica did some on-off bodyguard stuff at Starktech. Peni didn't see the point and just made a coin miner for pocket money.

Gwen thought about working at the Baskin-Robbins but the manager - Dale - creeped her out. It was like he was staring right through her...

"When are we getting the hell out of here?" Scarlet suddenly asked. All of them turned to look at her, "Not that I'm not having fun here but we do have lives to get back to. Hell, I missed my friend Cindy's wedding!"

"I gotta agree with Scarlet," Noir said, "I was in the middle of something back home and it's not something you put off."

"Hey, I'm frustrated too! You think I like being here and not being with my family?" Mayday asked, "But we can't do anything about it. Even if the Infinity Stones weren't destroyed here doing that snap thing again could just kill us." The alternate reality stones weren't here either. Apparently going back in time was okay but actually crossing dimensions? Nuh-uh, no dice.

"It means we have to just wait," Jessica said, "Let's just count ourselves lucky that we weren't totally cut off thanks to Octavia."

"Yep. This place is fun! Sure the tech is like caveman stuff but at least there aren't any giant monsters or evil aliens running around! Only good aliens."

"Yeah, don't remind me..." Noir muttered.

"Before I go, Peter said he wanted to get his game back?" Gwen said.

"Oh, sure!" Peni ran up and down in a few seconds flat and tossed the game to her. Gwen raised a brow at the cover depicting a Vampire wearing a schoolgirl outfit, "I did some tweaking and upped the gore effects so tell him to look forward to it. Oh, and I added a couple of endings in case he wanted to side with the humans instead. Felt like a really big thing not to include."

"Uh...sure."

She said her goodbyes to the others and swung around aimlessly. She could probably try to find a work again - Mrs. Stark gave them some really good fake ID's - but she didn't know what to do. Work at a music shop like Scarlet? Maybe set up an Earth-19999 branch of her Hero for Hire gig? She could donate all of her proceeds to charity. Though, she didn't wanna know what the IRS (instead of ISR, for some reason) of this world was like...

Her musings were cut off when she saw a familiar head of brown hair down below, "Hello..." She landed on the rooftop and grinned. Coincidence she ran into him but she couldn't discount her luck. Besides, it'd be good to talk to him without May walking in.

She dropped down into an alley and shifted her suit to a shirt and a pair of shorts and sneakers, "Least he can get you back early." She smirked down at the game and put it in her bag. Just act casual and it'd all be cool.

Gwen walked towards him and covered his eyes with both hands, "Guess who?" Peter turned around and blinked when he saw her. She pulled out the game again and held it out to him, "Got your game back. You can thank me later." She winked.

"Uh, Gwen! What are you-"

"Who's this?" Gwen turned to the source of the voice and saw the group he was hanging out with for the first time. A tan guy on the heavier side that sounded like how he described Ned, a tan girl with frizzy brown hair, another guy who looked like he'd been slapped in the fish when he looked at her and a pale blonde that...looked like...a younger version of her. Huh.

"Uh..." Gwen said very smartly.

"Oh, uh...this is Gwen. Gwen Stacy." Peter put a _friendly_ hand on her shoulder, "She's, uh, she's my neighbor! In my new place. She's in college." An awkward pause, "We, uh, we hang out sometimes. You know, neighbor buddies." God, she didn't know whether to cringe or find that absolutely adorable. And she wasn't someone who gushed over cute things a lot.

"Huh..." Same the frizzy haired girl, the same one who asked the question before. She narrowed her eyes, "Why does she look like Betty? She a cousin?" she asked the younger.

"Don't think so." She shook her head. Gwen could tell seeing an older clone was weirding her out.

"Well...you know, there's 8 billion people again. Chances are you'll run into someone who looks just like you sometime!" Gwen forced a grin. God, this was awkward, "Uh...so Peter, introduce me to your friends."

"H-Huh? Oh, well...this is Ned." He pointed to the heavier guy, "That's Michelle, Betty and...Flash." Gwen had to resist the urge to frown. Yeah, she'd heard _all_ about Flash. Apparently being brought back to life after five years didn't stop him from being a dick.

"Cool, nice to meet you." She did her best to give them all a pleasant smile. Ned still looked shocked (how much did Peter tell him?), Betty was rapidly accepting that she had a clone and Flash still looked like he got kicked in the balls. Apparently the sight of his bullying target knowing girls was some kind of brown note to him.

Michelle just looked at her with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Not hostile, more like seeing a puzzle that needed to be solved.

"S-So, I'll see you back home. Back at the apartment." Cause they totally didn't live together, no sir.

She turned away and fast walked back home, ignoring the questions they threw Peter's way or Flash's mocking call of Penis Parker. She almost turned around then and there to give that dick a piece of her mind. Sure she knew Peter could deal with it on his own, but months of helping out her Peter with his own bullies made it second instinct. Besides, she hatted bullies in general.

She made it back and collapsed on the couch. Well, _that_ was a disaster. She should've stayed, maybe get to know his friends better. If she was gonna stay here for a while then it wouldn't hurt, right? "Ugh..." She sat up and looked up at the ceiling. But that was before she played peekaboo and started winking. Neighbor friends didn't do that? Did they? She didn't do that back home with the other tenants in her building...

The door opened maybe 30 minutes later and Peter walked in, "...Hey." He sat next to her.

"Hey." Gwen peeked one eye open, "What happened to preparing with your friends?"

"I cut out early. MJ kept asking questions and Flash was being a dick." Of course he was, "Kept saying that he 'saw how I was looking at you' and that 'I didn't have a chance with a college girl'."

"Yeah? Shows what he knows." Gwen snorted, "Don't get how you can still deal with that asshole." She heard all about the Penis Parker DJ debacle. God, what a prick.

"Sticks and stones, Gwen."

"Decades of studies on the effects of bullying prove otherwise." She tried not to think about her Peter, "...Sorry for ruining your hangout time."

"Ah, it's fine. Maybe I'll take your advice and just pack at the last minute." He grinned and scooted together till their legs were touching, "So...how much you wanna prove Flash wrong?"

"If that's your attempt to be sexy I think I you need to work on it a bit more."

His protesting reply was cut off when she leaned forward and kissed him. Peter responded immediately, throwing his arms around her shoulders and pulling him in close. Gone were the days of awkward pecks and stolen kisses. Not that she minded back then, she wasn't exactly an expert either considering her non-existent dating history, but confident Peter was definitely something she could appreciate.

She was so busy appreciating it, in fact, that she didn't hear the front door open.

"...What the fuck?" The pair separated with a small pop and turned to May standing stock still on the door with her hand still on the knob.

"Uh..." Peter mumbled.

"Um..." Gwen said right after.

Gwen's look of shock turned to a smile. She didn't know if that was good or not, "I think you two have some explaining to do." She shut the door behind her and put the takeout on the table, "A _lot_ of explaining to do."

"...How awkward is this gonna be?" Peter asked softly.

"I'm pulling out baby pictures and showing her." May said, completely serious.

"Oh God..." Peter groaned and covered his face with both hands.

Gwen just laughed.


	2. Two Spiders being Dorks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter. Nothing much to say here, just more lighthearted stuff since people seem to not wanna read angsty stuff due to recent events. Hopefully it's good enough.
> 
> Also, to clarify something. Yes, the events of Far From Home will still happen, but the Europe trip counts as the point of no return. Once Peter and Gwen leave for Europe that's the final arc and the fic ends when that's dealt with. So anything before that is the slice of life segments.

Gwen was used to awkward situations. Having the former police chief as a dad led to a lot of overprotective worrying and warnings about boys growing up. She still remembered how he acted when Harry first came over. Peter was someone she knew since she was ten so her dad mostly ignored him, but Harry? Oh boy. Her bring home a teenage boy nearly made him go ballistic. It didn't help that he assumed Harry had a crush on her, which she didn't really get. They were friends.

Unlike her and Peter, who were very much more than that.

Being on the receiving end of the Parental Eyes of Scrutiny and Judgement™ was whole new feeling. Granted this dimension's May was more surprised and happy than angry and overprotective, but still.

"So..." May started. They were sitting around the couch with Chinese takeout in their hands. It was a consolation prize for them (somehow) burning pasta this morning, "You two are going out?"

"Mmm-hmm." Peter said, swallowing his bit of duck while staring at the table like it personally offended him.

"...For how long?"

Great, now came the moment of truth. They could cave and tell her exactly when or they could fib again and say it just started a week ago. That would've given them more leeway instead of the whole 'we totally hid the fact that we were porking behind your back'.

"Um..." Gwen said, very smart and eloquent cause that's how she always was.

"Er..." Peter added, the very picture of calm and grace.

"Well, that's a good sign," May snarked. Another thing she noticed - this May had a tongue on her. While the May back home had her moments of sharp one-liners this one seemed like she didn't let age or having a teenage nephew get to her, "So...I'm guessing this isn't your first kiss, right?"

"H-How do you know that?" Gwen asked.

"Cause most people don't start frenching till at least the third time." Gwen's face flushed red while Peter coughed and struggled to swallow his next mouthful of food. May handed him a glass of water and he drank it down greedily, "So why don't we skip the bit where you try to tell me it happened like a week ago and just say the truth. It'll be easier for all of us." She smiled.

There was more like the May she remembered. She used that smile like a _knife_ , "We...got together before I came back," Peter said eventually. Gwen debated holding his hand for support before thinking better of it, "Gwen really helped me out and...one thing led to another."

"We didn't know how to tell you," Gwen said after, "I mean the first time we met it was during Tony Stark's funeral. How could we just bring it up? Didn't seem like the right place."

"Yeah..." Peter muttered, "I'm really sorry for not saying anything. We just couldn't find the right time."

"And the two months you stayed over here? Never crossed your mind to maybe mention you were dating my nephew?" She wasn't angry or even judgemental, but Gwen still bit her lower lip and squirmed in her seat.

"I just...didn't know how to tell you," Gwen said, "I mean we were getting along great and I...guess I was scared that you'd..." Freak out. Get mad. Kick her out. It felt so stupid to think about - May was as great as Peter said she was - but she couldn't help herself. She spent two years getting crapped on and the year after that in prison all because people were scared of her. As much as she hated to admit it, a part of her was still scared of May treating her the same way.

Seeing the look on her face, May's smile turned more sympathetic and she set her food down, "Hey, you two. Look at me." They did, "I'm not angry, alright? Sure I'm kinda annoyed that I had to walk in on you two frenching like when I saw Peter in his costume."

"Yeah, I heard about that." Gwen covered her mouth and laughed. According to him he panicked and literally yeeted himself out a window, "I just...I guess it's not just the timing. I...I was scared that you'd freak out."

"Why would I?" She seemed genuinely confused and offended at the idea, "I mean, would I have preferred you both told me? Absolutely. But I know everything you did for Peter. You let him live at your place, helped keep him going when he found out what happened to us..." She rubbed her wrists slightly, "He went on and on about how much being with you helped to keep him going. I figured he had a massive crush on you, at least."

"I wasn't _that_ obvious!" Peter said, though it was more cheerful than before. A good sign.

"Eh...you kinda were." May waved a hand through the air, "You were acting like when you still had a crush on that Liz girl. I just didn't say anything cause I didn't wanna make things awkward for Gwen. Guess I shouldn't have bothered."

"What?! But we were hiding it so well!" He yelled.

"Nope." Peter's head sagged in defeat while Gwen laughed again. All the building fear and anxiety was slipping away, "Gwen did a better job but she had these googly eyes sometimes. I didn't know her well enough so I figured maybe she just really liked my cooking."

"That's totally what it was," Gwen said, fake sincere. May rolled her eyes, "So...we're really sorry for not telling you before."

"Don't sweat it. I can tell how happy he was when he talked about you and the way you hang around each other...yeesh, sometimes I wanted to tell you two to just get a room." She paused, "...But you two _are_ using protection, right? Cause I'm not ready to be a grandma just yet." She grinned.

It was a joke, but the way they reacted - fidgeting hands, biting lips and small noises - made May's grin fall. Just cause she was cool with her nephew dating someone didn't mean she was fine with _everything_.

"...Seriously?"

"W-We do use protection!" Gwen shouted. That...probably wasn't the answer she was looking for. May crossed her arms and just looked at her with a raised brow, waiting for her to dig her own grave, "I-I mean! Uh, we were-"

"Please don't tell me you're pregnant," May said flatly.

"She's not! The spider-sense means I know when-" Peter abruptly shut up. Gwen covered her face with both hands and _screamed_ into her palms. For obvious reasons they hadn't told anyone what exactly they got up to. Not even her dad and the Parkers back home knew. And now here they were practically giving May a blow-by-blow of that they got up to.

"Okay, I'm gonna need a sec to process this." May rubbed her temples and sighed, "I get it. You're a teenager and hormones are running high, but...I really don't wanna think of you two doing that under this roof."

"We're not doing it here," Gwen said. It was a feeble defense, but it was the best she could do, "We really were trying to hide the whole dating thing so it wouldn't have worked if we were...you know."

"Considering how obvious you two were being that's not much of an excuse" They both cringed. May sighed again, "Look...I'm not gonna say anything. If I couldn't stop Peter from putting on that suit and going off to fight purple raisin aliens in space I definitely can't stop him sleeping with his girlfriend. Just...keep it down and, I dunno, put up a sock on the doorknob or something. I really don't wanna walk in on you two going past first base."

"...Sure." Gwen's face was steaming now. _At least she's giving you permission_ , the idealistic (or horny...) part of her mind said.

"Good."

May smiled again and suddenly walked off behind them. Peter looked back, confused, "May...where are you going?"

"Getting your baby pictures." Gwen snorted into a laugh while Peter groaned.

"I thought you were joking about that!" he shouted.

"Absolutely not. It's a rite of passage. When Ben's mom found out we were dating she made me see his baby pics album cover to cover to prove I'd still be there after all of it. If I could go through that then that proves I'm the one. Now it's Gwen's turn."

"No, May, come on! Please?!" It was Peter's turn to scream into his hands. Gwen patted his shoulder sympathetically while May placed the thick album at the table in front of them and sat next to her. If she was being honest she kinda did look forward to it. If nothing else cause she could hold it over him for the ext couple of decades.

And it was...nice, being able to spend time with them like this.

"This is Peter's first Halloween when we got him." Peter groaned again while May tapped the picture of a very tiny four year old Peter dressed in a black spider onesie. He was growling at the camera and had his arms raised menacingly. It was absolutely adorable, "I told him he was cute and you know what he said? 'No, I'm not cute. I'm _amazing_!'"

"Yeah, I could totally see that." Gwen smirked at him. Guess he had a thing for Spiders even before the bite, "Don't worry, Pete. I think you're amazing." She pinched his right cheek lightly.

"I'm gonna have my revenge. Second we get back I'm gonna ask your dad to show me _your_ baby pics. Then we'll see who's laughing."

"Sure, ask the former police chief to see his daughter's underage pictures. I'm sure that'll go over _real_ well."

"...I hate you."

"Love you too."

They went through the pictures with Peter groaning and moaning the entire time. Despite Mays promises of baby pictures the earliest ones were him at three years old. It was when Peter came to their family, May told him a few weeks ago. Just like the Peter back home his parents here died in an accident. Just like Noir, the Peter from Jess' dimension and even Peni. It was like a cruel joke no one laughed at.

May's smile turned slightly somber when she stopped at the next picture. Ben Parker from twelve (or was it seventeen?) years ago carrying a 5 year old Peter on his back. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and a head of dark hair with no gray. The Ben back home was strong from his years as a handyman, but even he felt age coming to him. The Ben in the pictures was young and taken far too early.

"It's a nice picture." Gwen carefully picked it out of the page and showed it to Peter so he could get a better look. He smiled too and flipped it around to show her the writing on the back. 'Peter's 5th birthday' was written in big, black letters.

"Hey, you mind if I keep it with me?" Peter asked May.

"Go ahead." May nodded with a soft hum and closed the book, "So...any other secrets you guys are keeping from me?" May asked. She was glad there wasn't any awkward silence, "You came in with five other Spider people. Any stores with them?"

"About that." Should she tell her? The others said they didn't really care if May knew anything. As long as they weren't screaming it out in public streets they were cool with it, "Let's just say it's a good thing you're sitting down already cause me and Peter dating is probably one of the less weird things."

"Really doubt that but go on."

"Okay, um...right, let's start with Noir. Big guy with the trenchcoat?" May nodded, "Well we told you before that there are alternate versions of most people. Like apparently in this world I'm a French transfer student?" She hadn't actually met the illustrious Gwen Stacy of Earth-19999. She figured she must have been awesome considering she wasn't fridged of a bridge.

"She got snapped too. I share some classes with her," Peter added.

"Where's this going?" May asked.

"Well...Noir's Peter. The Peter Parker from his universe, at least." It still weirded her out thinking of someone with Peter's face running around as a vigilante with guns, but apparently he wasn't the only one. The Peter from Scarlet's universe was the same way from what she heard, "The reason we call him Noir is to help make it easier. Apparently Peter Parker is the default Spider-Man for most places."

"That's...something," she said, "So who are the other four? Are they female Peters?"

"No! ...Maybe?" Peter crossed his arms, "We're still not sure where Peni - the little Japanese girl - falls under since she's from the year 3145. She lives with her Uncle Ben and Aunt May too so I guess she counts?"

Gwen spoke next, "If we're talking about female Peters then Jess technically counts? Remember the one with the red costume and long brown hair?" Another nod from May, "She's...a clone." Jess didn't seem to care if people knew, but she got pissed if people started treating her like a female Peter. As far as she was concerned she and her Peter shared a genetic base and memories but they were totally different people. Which Gwen agreed with; Jess was her own person.

"A clone. Who's female. This feels like a weird 70's sci-fi movie," May said.

"Better than Mayday. She's Peter's daughter." May just looked at Gwen blankly. Yep, about what she expected, "In Mayday's dimension Peter's already like 40 and ended up marrying MJ. She got his powers too and followed in his footsteps." Along with giving Peter a massive crush on Mary Jane for those first few weeks. Gwen wasn't jealous. It never actually went anywhere and Gwen didn't like him that way back then.

"Her name's actually May since her dad named her after his Aunt May, but everyone just calls her Mayday. She's the one with the costume that looks the most like mine." Peter said.

"I'm sorry I'm still just trying to understand this whole 'met my hypothetical future granddaughter' thing you guys are treating really casually." She took a slow, deep breath, "Wait, you said MJ? In one world Peter ended up marrying that Michelle girl?"

"Not Michelle." Peter said. Apparently Peter still found the idea weird considering she didn't do friends until recently, "Mary Jane Watson, but friends call her MJ. Oh, and a different version of MJ's here too. The one with the long red hair? That's her."

"So there are actually Spider people that aren't just weird versions of you, your clones or your kids? Good to know."

"Yeah, I'm kinda proof of that." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Sorry. Still trying to get the whole thing." May shook her head, "Hey, you have their numbers, right?

"Yeah. We keep contact-"

"Invite them over for dinner tomorrow," May said, cutting Peter off, "For some reason I really wanna talk to all of them."

"But-"

"Nope. Dinner tomorrow, that's final." May stood and walked out, leaving the two of them to just stare at each other in awkward silence. Apparently they were having a group dinner tomorrow.

* * *

"So what's the deal with your neighbor?"

Peter looked up from his notes to MJ's curious gaze. They were all in the decathlon room playing catch-up on the new curriculum. There wouldn't be any new competitions for a while but it was always good to study.

That and it kept them distracted, gave them something to do. Decathlon was familiar and even with about half of their members having graduated it was nice to have something they were all used to. Still, Peter had to admit he missed a few of the old people like Cindy and Abe. Abe especially since he was the one who gave flash crap every time he tried to start something.

"...Huh?" Peter mumbled back. He and Michelle were sitting at one of the corner tables while the others were scattered around the room. Mr. Harrington gave them free time, meaning they could do whatever what they wanted. Most of them were at different parts of the room studying save for Flash who was making a video, because of course he was. He was really banking on the whole 'I came back after five years while my parents didn't get blipped' that millions of other people also had to deal with.

"Your neighbor friend," MJ said again, giving him an unreadable look. Even after knowing her for years her poker face was second to none, "What's the deal with her?"

"What deal? There's no deal." Ha, nailed it, "She's my neighbor. When May and I moved to the new place she helped us. We started hanging out after that." It made sense. They weren't that far apart in age - just three years, as Gwen was quick to remind people who assumed - and they lived in the same building (room). It wasn't weird for them to be friends (boyfriend and girlfriend).

"Right, and your neighbor just happens to look like an older version of Betty?" She gestured to the blonde studying with Ned. She joined the decathlon team too to help them fill up their numbers. That and she figured it was good for college. Apparently some students found it really hard to apply for universities after coming back from being blipped.

"It's like she said, there are 8 billion people in the world again. Chances are you'll find your clone. Look up those news articles about people finding their identical twins." A few years ago there was a guy who had a passing resemblance to Tony in California. Mostly he used it to try and score dates and pretend he was Tony's cousin to get VIP treatment.

"And this hypothetical clone just so happens to be living in the same city and the same apartment block as you."

"Yeah...?"

"Huh. Interesting." She tapped her fingers on the desk and hummed, "What's her family like?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Just curious." It was never just that with her. Still, it would've been weirder if he didn't say anything.

"Family's fine. She's living with her dad. He works for the police." They figured it wouldn't hurt to not change much. It wasn't like anyone would look too close. Records were messed up after billions of people just came back from being dusted.

"Single dad working with the police, huh? Interesting." More tapping, "Remind me again, what's her name?"

"...Gwen Stacy?" He had a sinking feeling in his gut.

"Gwen Stacy. You mean your neighbor or our permanent exchange student?" Peter's hand froze and his pen fell off the desk, "Gwen Stacy, a Midtown student who's living alone with a single dad who's working for the police. Then there's your neighbor who just so happens to be living alone with a single dad who's also working for the police. Weird coincidence, huh?"

"That's..."

"And if that wasn't enough she also looks like an older version of Betty. I don't know about, but that seems _really_ weird, doesn't it?" She leaned forward and smirked slightly.

"D-Dunno what you're talking about. We're just neighbors."

"Which one? Left or right? Or maybe across? Maybe I'll visit, ask her what college she recommends." Peter's mouth went dry. MJ's smirk widened and she looked him dead in the eye, "What are you hiding, Peter?"

The familiar words made him force a smile, "O-Oh, I get it. This is just a joke. You're gonna tell me you don't really care, right?"

"Nope, I really wanna know. Spill it."

... _Crap_.

"I gotta get going. Family dinner thing." He stuffed his notes into his backpack and fast walked out of there like his butt was on fire. Flash tried to shout one passing insult but Peter ignored him and pushed through the double doors. Not good, this was _really_ not good. MJ wasn't a supervillain or anything - or at least he didn't think so... - but having someone prying into their affairs was a bad thing.

He'd have to talk to her alone next time, try to get her to stop asking questions.

Footsteps came up behind him and he heard Ned's voice, "Dude, wait up!" Ned ran until they were walking side by side, "Man, you just rushed outta there Did MJ do something?"

"She was asking some personal questions." He tightened his grip on his backpack, "You know, about my 'out of town friends'?" He didn't tell Ned a lot, which was for both their safety. He told him about being taken from another dimension and that the others were all Spider people but that was about it. He didn't know he was dating Gwen or that most of the other Spiders were either alternate versions or connected to Peter Parker.

"Oh yeah. Those guys. When are you gonna let me meet em?"

"Not the time, Ned." Peter sighed, "It's just...I mean they're still getting used to being here, you know? It wouldn't be good if they started getting visitors they didn't know." Noir and Jessica would be pissed.

"...Do any of them lay eggs?"

"What? No!"

"Spit venom? Summon an army of spiders?"

"No and no!" Of course he'd ask that, "Peni has a mental link to a spider, but that's it." Noir had a gun and Scarlet had a symbiote like Gwen, but that was about it. No laying eggs or any other gross stuff.

"Like a Familiar? What does that do?"

"It helps her control her mech suit." Ned stopped walking. Peter looked back and found his best friend looking at him with wide eyes, "Uh...dude? What's-"

Ned suddenly grabbed both his shoulders in a vice grip, "Dude, I have to meet these guys!"

"I said I can't-"

"Please! Just once and I promise I'll never bug you again! Promise!"

"Ugh..." Peter groaned. He should've kept his mouth shut; now there was no way he'd let it go, "... _Fine_ , but just once. I gotta go over there anyway." He had to invite them all for May's sudden dinner party. May wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Thanks! Oh man, this is gonna be so cool!" Peter couldn't help but smile. At least Ned was having fun.

It didn't take them long to get to the apartment - or, as he and Mayday affectionately called it, the Web-site. Ned was practically bouncing on the elevator ride up and when they finally got to the door Peter had to stop him, "Dude, you need to chill, okay? They're all cool ut some of them aren't like me and Gwen. So don't go asking them if they lay eggs or anything."

"Yeah, yeah! Totally!"

Peter slid his keycard inside and opened the door only to almost immediately get bowled over by a flying sphere, "Sorry, sorry!" Peni screamed, chasing after the red and blue sphere the size of a basket ball. The circular machine zipped back into the apartment and continued its erratic flight all over the apartment till it suddenly zoomed up into the ceiling.

"Hey, watch it!" Jessica screamed. She was hanging upside down, long hair falling down in a straight line, and messing with a tablet. Even as a fellow Spider he found it sort of odd how they seemed to prefer being upside down a lot of the time.

"It's not my fault it went haywire! Tech here is like working with an abacus!" Peni shouted back.

The sphere wizzed by her again, this time heading straight for the dinner table where Noir and Mayday sat. The former was disassembling and checking his pistol's components while the latter was in the middle of a video chat with her mom and dad, "I'm trying to talk here!" Mayday groaned. She picked up her own tablet and, like it was the most normal thing in the world, jumped to the wall to continue her chat.

Noir wasn't as lucky.

The sphere crashed into the table head-on, spilling the disassembled gun to the floor. The older Spider's right brow twitched and he glared at the whizzing ball, "You don't get that thing under control I'm smashing it."

"It's not my fault!" Peni shouted again, "The tech they loaned me made it glitch!"

"Just get it down already!" Noir shouted back.

The sphere made one final lap and careened towards the bathroom door. Scarlet stepped out with the sphere inches from making contact, "Look o-" Peni's warning was cut off when, without missing a beat, the redhead's hands shifted into a blade and she cut the sphere in half.

There was a moment of silence in the apartment before Peni yelled in a panic and knelt down next to the bisected ball, "Why did you do that?!" she screamed, looking up at Scarlet. The spider on her shoulder moved its fangs to match its partner's mood.

"It was about to hit me in the face. What was I supposed to do, just let it?" Scarlet scoffed. She ignored the muttering teenage girl and turned her attention to the two of them still standing in the doorway, "Looks like we've got guests."

Jessica hopped down from the ceiling and landed in front of them gracefully. Ned couldn't take his eyes off her, "Odd for you to come here. Gwen's usually the one who checks in." Her eyes focused on Ned and she raised a brow, "Who's your friend?"

"Th-This is Ned. Ned Leeds."

"Y-Yeah, totally," Ned stood up straight, "R-Real cool to meet you!" An akward silence, "...You like legos?"

"You sure your name isn't Ganke?" She laughed at their confused expression, "Well, whatever. Peter told us you already knew who he was so I'm guessing you can keep a secret."

"Yep! Absolutely!" Peter decided not to comment on that.

"Cool. The name's Jessica Drew, but most people call me Jess. Girl on the wall's Mayday, brooding guy on the table is Noir, kid with the death ball is Peni and the redhead's Scarlet."

They all gave greetings of varying enthusiasm. Ned looked at each of the in wonder, focusing particularly on Jess, Scarlet and Peni. It wasn't surprising. He saw Jess hanging from the ceiling, Peni had a mech and Scarlet just turned her hand into a sword and cut something in half.

"So why the sudden visit?" Scarlet asked from the couch, "Gwen already checked in yesterday."

"It's not about that." Peter wrung his hands nervously. Ganke was already off with Peni in the corner helping her carry the sphere to the center table, "Aunt May wanted to invite you all over for dinner. She was really insistent."

"...Why?" Jessica crossed her arms, "I thought you didn't tell her about us besides that we were allies?"

"Yeah, about that..." He scratched the back of his head. It was embarassig, but better he tell them now than later, "She...kinda caught me and Gwen in the middle of something and made us spill what we were keeping on the down low."

Noir groaned, "So the reason we're doing this is cause you and your girlfriend couldn't keep it in your trousers?"

"Wait, you're dating Spider-Woman?" Ned looked at in awe, "Dude, why didn't you tell me you were dating a college superhero?! That's so awesome!"

"Well talk about it later." Peter shook his head.

"I don't mind," Peni said. She hadn't looked up from the bisected sphere at all and continued to tinker with it, "Food here's much better than back home. Food pills and supplements really ruined the fun of it."

"I'm in too. Just make sure to keep it in pants next time, eh, Tiger?" Scarlet smirked up at him. Peter ignored how familiar the nickname was and the short-lived crush that came with it, "Crimson'll eat anything so I'm not too picky."

"I guess I'm in too." Mayday hopped off the wall, "It'll be...interesting to see what this world's May Parker is like." She turned to Noir and Jess, "What about you two?"

"Might as well. I get the feeling I'm gonna regret it if I say no." Noir shrugged, "I'm in, but I can't stay too long. There's another case on the backlog I gotta get to."

"I'll...pass." Jessica looked away, "I'm not really good at the whole family dinner thing."

"May looked like she really wanted to talk to you," Peter said.

"Why? She doesn't know me." Her gaze was surprisingly harsh.

"Well..."

"One dinner won't hurt," Mayday said with a placating smile, "If you don't like it you can leave, but just give it a chance. Please?"

"...Fine." Jessica sighed.

That wasn't as bad as he thought. Now he just had to make sure they got through the night without killing each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: awkward family dinners and May meeting her possible granddaughter, a female clone and two alternate versions of her nephew. People seem to really want May interacting with Noir, Jessica and Mayday. Peni and Scarlet are just kinda there, I guess.
> 
> Till next time.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. Do you guys mind if the other Spiders get POV segments? I have plans for a New York arc involving the Defenders but the catalyst as is written involves Noir and/or Scarlet MJ being the POV character rather than MCU or Gwen. They do get involved later but the inciting incident is with those two. I ask because the segment feels like something out of Looking Glass and readers might not like it due to the difference in tone.
> 
> 2\. I'm thinking of doing another 'girls/guys day out' chapter and find myself lacking on the male side. Apart from Peter, Ned and Noir who else do you guys wanna have for a guy hangout? Either a teenager or adult would work.
> 
> 3\. Given their personalities, do you guys think Gwen and Michelle would get along? Ignoring the whole Peter thing.


	3. Identity Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica deals with awkward family dinners. Afterwards Noir and Scarlet get in over their head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned before this chapter will be from the other Spiders' POV. The first segment with Jessica Drew is particularly angsty with more focus on Jessica's internal thoughts than the dialogue. Don't worry, the next chapter will return to the lighter tone.
> 
> Aside from that we get set up for the next arc with the Spiders working together with the Defenders. Hope it works out :)

Jessica was never one for group outings. Came with the whole 'born with 15 years of memories that aren't yours' thing. As soon as she woke up in that pod she thought she was Peter Parker. She remembered Uncle Ben - no, _just_ Ben - teaching her how to ride a bike and May teaching her how to sew clothes. Didn't help Peter, though. He still needed MJ- _Mary Jane_ to patch up his costume every time he wrecked it.

That was another thing she remembered. Mary Jane. The person 'she' grew up with, the one 'she' had a crush on ever since 'she' figured out guys and girls were different. It was...hard to see her when the shitshow with Octavius was all said and done. Logically Jessica knew that she wasn't Peter and that Mary Jane was very much not into girls, but she couldn't just make the memories go away. Peter dating Kitty Pryde at the time definitely didn't help, nor was the idea that she had to like guys since, hey, she was a woman now so fuck all those 15 years of crammed in memories telling her she had something else between her legs.

Which led to the whole loner thing. She wasn't a Superhero like Peter; at least not most days. S.H.I.E.L.D took her in and that meant being an agent. Most agents didn't make friends - came with the line of work they were in when everyone was expendable and could be left behind. She did get manage to make a rapport with some of the other agents like Agent Wu, Agent Carter and a few others, but they weren't friends. It was...an understanding. She had their back and they had hers. They didn't go out to talk once the day was done or anything.

Probably didn't help that she was 15 then and 19 now. She got fast tracked on the whole agent thing and none of them were used to a teenager running around with them, powers or no.

It wasn't like she could spend time with Peter's friends either. Oh they tried to invite her when Peter told them, all smiles and open arms, but she knew. She saw the pity and uncertainty in their eyes. She didn't wanna be a charity case, didn't want to be just 'Peter Parker with breasts' like how she knew they saw her as. Peter could keep them. It was better for them both.

And now she was here with another May.

"Eat up everyone!" Mary Parker said with a smile. If she wasn't told beforehand Jessica wouldn't have recognized her. She'd seen a lot of May Parkers ever since she found out about the multiverse, but for the most part they were the same. Old ladies with heads of white hair and wrinkles that were far too many for someone looking after a teenager. More a grandmother than anything else. Even the May back home was the same despite being hardened after everything she'd gone through.

This May was young. Too young. This dimension's Peter told them she was 52, but she could've easily passed as a decade young. She didn't have any of the white hair from the May she knew and her wrinkles were graceful; not the harsh lines Jessica was used to. This May talked a lot too. Always smiling and asking questions like an overeager chipmunk. It would've been endearing if it wasn't so annoying.

She was also a pretty crappy cook considering most of the dinner was Italian takeout, but Jessica wasn't going to judge. She made friends with every fast food place around her block considering she tipped well.

Jessica sullenly poked at her bucatini and tried not to look too put off. They'd all dressed up for the dinner despite Parker's insistence that it was supposed to be a casual thing. Noir had put on a loose black suit and loafers while Mayday and Peni put on a pair of nice blouses, skirts and short heels. Scarlet was the only one who didn't follow suit, shifting her symbiote to an off the shoulder red shirt, torn jeans and sneakers.

Even she'd followed suit. The red button-up, white pants and dark flats weren't too fancy, but it got the job done. And it made it look like she actually put some effort in.

"So what do you guys do back home? Besides the whole Superhero thing, I mean," May asked.

"I'm still in high school, but I do some charity work in a women's shelter when I can," Mayday said, because of course she worked in charities. Jessica didn't have anything against the younger Spider but it did feel like she went overboard with the hero thing sometimes. With or without the mask it seemed like she focused on helping other people and never on herself.

"Charities, huh? Don't suppose I could convince you to do a little swing-by on the Salvation Army's next event? A new Spider showing up might boost donations."

"That's the group trying to get everyone homes, right? Count me in." Mayday beamed. She never knew May Parker - she told them all that she was born after her Great-Aunt May died - but that only made it easier. Unlike the rest of them she didn't have any expectations on who May Parker 'should' be outside of some stories told by her dad. Jessica felt jealous.

"What about the rest of you?" May asked.

"I'm not exactly built for getting donations." Noir smiled wryly. Aside from Scarlet she tended to get along with him the most. Not that she hated Gwen, Mayday or Parker or anything, it was just...hard to agree with them sometimes. They saw the world different - better - than she did. It was another reason she and her Peter had their disagreements. If it wasn't for him she would've let Octavius die for all the things he did.

"You won't know till you try it." Gwen said with a smirk. She and Parker were sitting side-by-side to May's right and it didn't take a genius to see they were holding hands under the table. To Jessica's left she saw Scarlet roll her eyes and make a mocking kissy face gesture at the two that they both ignored, "I mean you've definitely got the voice for it. Feel like I should be listening to you narrate whenever you talk."

"Charming." He scoffed and looked back to May, "Back home I'm an investigative reporter. Had some ideas for being on the science track but...didn't work out." World War II and being a socialist tended to make life difficult back home, from what he told her. Jessica could sympathize.

"I'm in! It'll be nice to stretch SP/dr's legs!" Peni said, loud and barely finished chewing. As smart as the girl was manners wasn't her forte, "Oh, and I'm...uh, the word we use is Protector, but superhero works! I don't really fight normal criminals. Mostly it's giant monsters, rogue AI's or crazy cyborgs. I do try to help out when I can, though! Even if it does make Uncle Ben kinda mad..."

"Ben, hm?" May smiled sadly. It must've been odd knowing that another version of her dead husband was still out there, "You're in school, I'm assuming?"

"Yup! But I get a free pass to skip if there are any emergencies." This time it was Peni's smile that became strained, "A lot of my classmates don't like it. They think I'm getting special treatment for nothing."

"Don't let it get you down, Peni. School's important but so is saving the city." Parker said.

"I know, it's just kinda annoying..." She puffed up her cheeks briefly.

"My turn, I guess?" Scarlet asked. Apart from Gwen she was the only non-Parker on the table. Which was probably why she didn't look nearly as awkward as the rest of them, "I'm still in college but I do some modeling gigs from time to time. Gotta pay rent."

"Modeling? You know I did some when I was your age," May said.

"Let me guess, you were young and you needed the money." Scarlet laughed lightly, "My first modeling gig ended up with me getting into a fight with a supervillain and losing two of my friends, so it wasn't very fun. Still, it's good money. Agencies pay big bucks for someone who can do their own dye jobs and make-up." She twisted her right pointer finger and the ends of her hair were suddenly dyed black.

"Man, I wish I could do that." Gwen pouted exaggeratedly.

"The Gwen back home could, so you should be able to. Just try it out," Scarlet said, "Aside from that me and my friends do some band gigs whenever we can find any. Gwen over there's the same, last I checked."

"I'm curious about something," Peni said, "When did you find out about Peter's powers?"

"Oh yeah, I was wondering that too," Mayday added, "For me and Peni it was kinda hard to keep it a secret."

"H-Hey, we shouldn't talk about this," Parker said, just a bit too quickly, "I mean it's not really important-"

"I found Peter posing in front of the mirror," May cut in shamelessly. The younger Spider-Man groaned and covered his face with his free hand while Gwen patted his shoulder comfortingly, "I was just coming back home and then I saw him putting on the suit. He was slow walking like he was making some big entrance then he took his mask off. Then I said 'what the fuck' cause, you know, _my nephew was Spider-Man_."

"Yeah, that'll do it," Jessica said, speaking up for the first time that night. The others turned to look at her like they forgot she was there. Rude, "I'm surprised your spider-sense didn't warn you. It's pretty much what it's supposed to do."

"Spider-sense? ...Oh, you mean his peter tingle." Gwen and Peni tried (and failed) to hold in their laughs while Mayday looked distinctly uncomfortable at the idea of any Peter Parker having tingles.

" _Please_ do not call it that." Parker groaned, "And it didn't work on Ned back then either. I dunno. I guess it's because they're not dangerous? I mean they kept my secret."

"Surprisingly considering how big a mouth your friend has," Noir said. Mayday elbowed his side and lightly glared at him, "Hey, I call it like I see it. You weren't the one he kept asking if you lay eggs or spit up venom."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Jessica, right?" May asked. Jessica nodded reluctantly, "You didn't answer the question. What do you do back home?"

"Um..." She chewed on her lower lip. She was hoping that they would've just skipped her since Peni's question, "Any part time job I can. Like Scarlet said, need to pay rent." She gave a crooked smile. She couldn't exactly tell May that she worked as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Even if she didn't do any of the nasty stuff like assassination it wasn't exactly a good look.

"Not in school? College?"

"Kinda hard considering the whole you know what." May knew about her, Parker and Gwen made that clear, but aside from that it was pretty vague. In this world clones weren't a thing; or if they were then no one knew about it. Even though S.H.I.E.L.D gave her a fake I.D she never saw the point of going back to school. Wasn't like they'd let her go off to be a carpenter or something.

"Oh, yeah...that." Jessica raised a brow. Well, she certainly hadn't heard anyone call it 'that' before. Most people either just said it outright or didn't say anything at all, "So...do you live with the May from your world?"

"No. Why would she want a messed up copy when she has the real thing?" She hadn't meant to say it, but being asked that question by another May Parker, even if it wasn't her own, made her snap. May tried to give her a home and she refused it. She couldn't. How could she live in that house knowing it was all wrong? That the only reason they cared was because they thought she was another Peter?

May flinched, "Ah...sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"It's not your fault." She shouldn't be here. The way May looked at her, so full of pity and confusion, made her want to flip the table. This always happened. Once people found out about her history they either treated her like a freak or looked at her like a kicked puppy.

With the rest of them they could talk fine. Sure it was weird, knowing someone like Noir was another version of her nephew, but at least he was still Peter. He wasn't this weird copy in the wrong body.

The atmosphere at the table became heavy and quiet. Noir sighed and looked away while Mayday and Parker looked like they wanted to say something to get the conversation going again. Scarlet brushed a hand through her wrist but Jessica shrugged her off. The last thing she wanted was pity. At least with the assholes she could always hate them. She couldn't hate May for being a good person.

"Thanks for the dinner." She had to leave. Had to stop dragging them down. Before they could say anything else she put the napkin on the table and made her way upstairs in a rush. She couldn't breath. All she could see was May's look of pity and then she remembered every other one. Peter, Mary Jane, Kitty. She wished she was more like the Gwen from back home. She was a clone too but everyone treated her like she was the original. She didn't have to live knowing she was wrong.

The cold night air hit her as soon as opened the rooftop door. Jessica stopped at the edge of the building and finally breathed, "Fuck..." She gripped the edge of the low wall and panted. She had panic attacks sometimes. Her S.H.I.E.L.D assigned therapist taught her some breathing exercises, but they didn't really help. Most times it was best if she just didn't talk to anyone about the cloning at all.

Her breathing was almost back to normal when she heard the door open behind her, "Jess...?" Her grip on the edge tightened at the sound of Gwen's voice. The other Spider walked towards her slowly, afraid she'd run if she got too close. Jessica continued to breath in and out and looked ahead as the blonde finally walked up behind her. Gwen wasn't a danger and she shouldn't treat her like one.

"...I'm sorry," Gwen said softly.

"For what?" It came out in a harsher rasp than Jessica intended.

"For the whole thing." She breathed out softly and took up a place on Jessica's right side, "I just...usually you're so cool about the whole you know what that I didn't think you'd..."

"Freak out?" Jessica smiled bitterly, "Yeah, sorry. It's just...seeing May makes it difficult. With Peter I got used to it. There are so many Peters that I just put it at the back of my mind. But with May...I remember her raising me. Remember crying in her arms when Ben died. But those aren't my memories. They're just something Octavius put in my head because someone paid him to."

"May didn't mean to-"

"It's not about what she said!" Jessica snapped, "It's...It's the way she looked at me. That 'oh, this poor girl!' look in her eyes. I hate it. Do you have any idea what it's like, having someone treat you different the second they find out who - what - you are?"

"More than you know." The firmness in Gwen's voice surprised her, "I'm Gwen Stacy. Tell me. how many Spider-Gwen's do you see running around compared to the Peter Parkers?" Jessica didn't say anything, "I've seen dozens and dozens of Peters but other Gwens? I count two. No, every other time I hear about a Gwen she's either the girlfriend, the ex or she's dead because some crazy asshole decided to throw her off a bridge."

"But you know what the worst part is? Those looks. Those Peters who lost their Gwens look at me like I'm some kind of ghost come back to haunt them. Like I'm nothing more than a reminder of the one woman they couldn't save. So yeah, Jess, I know what it's like. Every time I meet a new Peter I wonder if his Gwen's dead and he's gonna look at me with this haunted look in his eyes. Because the spiders always choose Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy is just their tragedy."

"...Does your Peter ever look at you like that?"

"No, he doesn't." It was faint, but she smiled, "It's why it feels right with him. To him Gwen Stacy's just this french exchange student and he doesn't have any tragedy when he looks at me. I just...wish I could say the same." Jessica had heard all about her Peter. Her childhood friend who turned himself into the Lizard because he wanted to be special. One of the few where the spider missed him.

"Does he remind you of the Peter from your home?" Once people found out they always tried to look for similarities. The way they walked, the way she scratched her chin whenever she was frustrated. They came from him.

"Sometimes when he smiles after rattling off some big nerdy thing, but...no. Not really. My Peter was...angry. Bitter. Pete's like...he's like a sunflower if it was human." Jessica had to laugh at that. It was a...unique way to describe someone, "They both love science but they couldn't be more different if they tried. Same way he's not the same as Noir or Peni. They're all unique."

"...I don't belong here," Jessica said eventually, "Everyone else already knew about Parker's deal. I was just there when that Thanos guy attacked and now I'm stuck here." Story of her life. She jumps in with barely a clue to save a world and she ended up trapped in it.

"We're trying to find a way back home. It'll just take some time. But until then we gotta stick together, and that means if you need anything you don't keep it to yourself. Just tell us and we'll help. Spider guarantee."

"Easier said than done. But I'll try."

Gwen looked back slightly, "...You wanna come back? If not it's cool. I'll tell them something came up."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna split. I can't deal with this now." She sighed, "Just...tell May I'm sorry and that it's not her fault. And that I'll come back again. But right now I need some alone time."

"Alright. Take care of yourself, Jess."

"Yeah...you too."

* * *

"You sure you're ready?" Noir looked back to Scarlet. He was investigating a new lead on the Harlem's Paradise crime family and she insisted on coming along. Apparently her tagalong was getting real antsy and she decided his job was as good a chance as any to try and let off some steam.

That and he didn't judge.

"Yeah. Just following your lead." They were dressed in full costume after leaving May Parker's dinner party. Peni and Mayday decided to stay in and have an impromptu sleepover, leaving the two of them alone. None of the others knew what they were doing and it was best they keep it that way. Despite their best efforts there was definitely a split in the group. He, Scarlet and Jessica could get into arguments with Mayday, Stacy and the kid. Peni tended to ping pong depending on what the argument was about.

And they definitely wouldn't have approved of what they were doing now.

This wasn't a job, technically. He'd heard rumblings about the boss of Harlem's Paradise, one Luke Cage. People said he was invincible, but then again they also said he was 10 feet tall with a pecker the size of a minigun so he wasn't sure he believed it. All Noir knew was that all the crime bosses tended to congregate in this place but despite that Harlem was apparently crime-free. An oasis in the desert.

He didn't buy it. Crime bosses kept their backyards clean but there was always something rotten underneath. Just cause people didn't see it didn't mean that it wasn't there.

He and Scarlet were crouched on the edge of the building across the club. Harlem's Paradise shined like a jewel. Lines of people took up the streets while the faint sounds of smooth jazz came from inside. If it wasn't filled to the brim with gangsters he would've been tempted to take a nip inside. It'd been months since he had a decent drink and heard a good chanteuse.

"We going in there or not?" Scarlet asked.

"And what? I was planning to investigate, not start a fight." He didn't really have a reason for it. Cases were drying up and he didn't like the idea of just sitting on his keister not doing anything. Long as they were stuck here he'd try to do some good.

"Seriously? Ugh, if I knew that I wouldn't have come..."

"Wasn't like I invited you. Thought you would've chased after Drew considering."

"Considering what?" The eyes of her mask narrowed. Creepy. Never got why she, Stacy and the Kid did that. The point of a mask was to be unreadable."

"Considering you're both stepping out." She looked confused "Pitching woo?" Still no reaction. He sighed and decided to be more blunt, "You've been sharing a bed and aren't exactly keeping all your clothes on. Get it?"

Scarlet's eyes widened and she coughed, "Y-You saw that?"

"Heard it more like." He had better hearing than most Spiders. Most times it helped, sometimes it didn't, "Not that it's any of my business but I thought you had someone back home?" Couldn't remember if it was a guy or another dame.

"It's more of an open casual kind of thing. Neither of us are built for the whole dating thing." She looked ahead to the club, "And with Jess...it's nothing serious. We agreed before we did anything that we'd cut it off once we found a way back. Till then it's just us 'sharing a bed'." She coughed, "Besides, you really shouldn't judge. Bet a guy like you's had a buddy or two."

"One I wasn't judging, and two I didn't." Felicia didn't count. That was a one night stand and they never did it again.

"Wait...really?" She 'blinked'. Again, disturbing, "Huh, I thought a guy like you'd be a real heartbreaker."

"Sorry to disappoint you." His spider-sense blared. Eyes narrowed, he looked around the crowd and saw shifty looking guy in a baggy coat looked around frantically before he ducked into the nearby alley, "Looks like we might get some action after all." He pointed the guy out to Scarlet.

"Sure it's not just a guy selling ecstasy on the cheap? It _is_ a nightclub."

"Spider-sense wouldn't ring for some drugs. Something's wrong."

"You know I really want that. Be real convenient if I got a warning before someone tries to shoot at me."

They webbed themselves to the opposite rooftop and followed the guy down the alley. It was actually a couple of buildings down from the club itself so there weren't any guards or patrons to see, "This guy's paranoid..." Scarlet said as the guy did another 360 turn for the third time. Whatever he was packing must've been hot, "You sure he's dangerous? I don't wanna clock an innocent guy."

"Spider-sense never led me wrong before."

Eventually the guy stopped and pulled out a phone. He looked down at what looked like a map before he pulled something out of his jacket and set it against the wall, "Is that..." Scarlet trailed off when the guy stuck what was definitely a bomb against the wall.

Noir jumped down and stomped his back, pinning him to the ground while Scarlet ripped the bomb out of the wall. Thankfully it hadn't activated just yet, "You got it?" he asked.

"Yeah." Scarlet gave him a quick thumbs up and examined the casing. She clicked her tongue and tapped the countdown timer, "This is a pretty big yield. As in it would've taken out the next few blocks big."

"Know a lot about bombs, do you?"

"I helped my Gwen out with some stuff. Supervills and terrorists love blowing stuff up."

"I'm guessing the club was his target. Better to plant it here and make the club look like collateral damage."

"Then it's a good thing you both stopped it," a new voice cut in. Both Noir and Scarlet crouched down into battle ready stances as a man strode down the alley towards him. He was big, big enough to make him feel small despite the small height difference, with dark skin and a meticulously groomed suit that looked out of place in such a grungy place.

Luke Cage. The so-called Hero of Harlem turned mob boss.

He stopped when Noir pulled out his gun and aimed it at his chest, "Not another step." The would-be bomber tried to crawl away. Noir stomped the back of his head to knock him out, "We know exactly who you are, Cage."

"Really? Cause I don't know anything about you." His voice was calm, like they were just having a casual conversation. He didn't even look like he noticed the gun, "I do know that I owe you."

"Keep your thanks. We didn't come here to make sure you could keep your place on the table."

"I wouldn't have been as rude, but same," Scarlet said.

"Alright, we don't gotta be friends. That's fine with me." He took another step, "Just leave the guy here and we can pretend we never met."

"Yeah...leave the crazy bomber guy with the crime boss? Doesn't really sound like a good idea." Scarlet scoffed.

"Agreed. How about this: we're taking him with us so we can find out who sent him here. You go back to your club and have a good time, Mr. Cage, and we'll deal with him. No need to thank us." Noir sneered. He hated dealing with crime bosses. A lot of the time it came down to picking the lesser evil. The guy who blinds you in one eye instead of both. If he had his way he wouldn't choose at all.

"That's gonna be a problem. See, I need to make sure no one tries something like this again and I can't do that if you just hide him away in your spiderweb. So, let's make a deal."

"I already told you the deal. Leave him to us and turn around. Last warning."

"And I said I can't do that." They stared at one another for a moment before he let out a slow breath and scowled, "Fine, don't say I didn't warn you."

He charged forward and Noir shot. The bullets cut through the fabric of his suit only to harmlessly fall to the ground, "...Applesauce." He ducked the wide punch while Scarlet jumped to the wall, "Guess they were right about you being invincible." He dodged the next hit and kicked Cage in the cut. It hurt himself more than anything and he stumbled to the ground just before Scarlet jumped at Cage's back and pulled him away.

"I don't wanna fight you!" Cage said. Scarlet jumped off his back and aimed a kick down as she fell. Just like Noir the impact hit back and she hissed as she landed somewhat awkwardly, "Just gimme the guy and we can all walk away from this."

"Can't do that. Sorry." Scarlet shot two lines of blood red webbing to his feet and tugged. Thankfully he wasn't nearly as heavy as they thought and he fell on his back with a loud crash.

"Grab the guy!" Noir shouted. He webbed down Cage's arms, legs and head to keep him from getting up and looked back to Scarlet, "Hurry!" he shouted again. He got the feeling the webs wouldn't hold him down for long.

Sure enough he heard the unmistakable sound of tearing silk by the time he and Scarlet were back on the roof. They didn't stop running and as soon as they were able they broke out into a swing. Far as they knew Mr. Invincible couldn't swing on webs so they were safe.

They stopped when they were far enough away. Noir panted slightly while Scarlet dropped the jittery mook like a sack of potatoes, "Bulletproof guy. That's new." Her mask peeled away to expose her face, "What do we do now?"

"Like I said before, we ask some questions." He crouched in front of the unconscious would-be bomber, "I found an abandoned place a month ago and I've been using it as a safehouse. We can take him there."

"You think we should've let the bulletproof man have him?"

"Not a chance. Crime bosses are more concerned with breaking fingers than actually solving problems."

"Point. Well, we should probably call the others. Bit too late to keep it on the downlow now that we've got a mad bomber on our hands."

"Go ahead. Just be ready for Stacy, Mayday and the kid to start yelling at us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end segment went through a big change. In the original plan Noir and Scarlet actually beat Luke by using his need to breath against him and they suffocated him by covering his mouth and nose with webbing till he passed out. I cut it out cause I thought people would call bullshit at them defeating a two time Netflix hero.
> 
> He was also supposed to be the one they kidnapped cause they didn't wanna leave him there. I changed it to the bomber so the conflict is more them wanting to solve the bomb attempt their own ways rather than them just not liking each other. Yeah it's still a 'let's you and him' fight, but hopefully an understandable one.
> 
> Anyway, next chapter we go back to MCU's POV and meet the rest of the Defenders. Spiders vs Defenders (before they kiss and make up), ho!
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. So what do you guys think now that you've seen them? Should we get more POV's from the perspective of the other Spiders or stick to MCU and Gwen?
> 
> 2\. Since we're discussing changes to plot what do you guys think of removing EDITH entirely? Mysterio is still dangerous without it and I have another reason in mind for Beck to target Peter.


	4. Trouble on both sides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to standard with a pure MCU Peter POV chapter. Not much romance in this chapter but we do move along the plot more as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

Peter woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon, "Bwuh?" He sat up on the couch slowly and rubbed his eyes. Peni and Mayday stayed over last night so they all decided to have a sleepover in the living room. It was fun. Back when he was in Gwen's dimension he got used to staying up all night with Gwen and Betty, just gorging on junk food and watching webflicks (netflix with a weird name). A lot of the time MJ and Glory came too and then he'd watch them practice or brainstorm ideas for new music.

He really missed them...

"Rise and shine, Pete..." Gwen passed him on the couch and clapped his shoulder. She was just as sleepy as him, hair messy and her baggy sweatshirt and shorts disheveled from a rough night of...playing board games. That was it. They totally didn't sneak off while Mayday and Peni were watching an old horror movie (May left for a sudden SA meeting) to do anything they wouldn't want anyone else to see.

"I'm up, I'm up..." He waved a hand lazily and almost stepped on the sleeping Peni curled up on the floor under the table. Her spider hissed at him protectively before returning to his place next to her cheek, "Sorry," Peter mumbled. He knelt down to the sleeping mecha pilot and gently shook her, "Hey, Peni, up and at em." She grumbled and waved him away like an annoyed cat, "...Mayday's making bacon."

Her eyes opened and she rolled out from under the table, "You should've said that first." He didn't say anything and just sat at the table between her and Gwen after offering to help Mayday. His theoretical daughter waved him off and said it was no big deal. Back home they split who did the cooking depending on who was the least busy. Apparently older him wasn't a fan of fast food, which was pretty blasphemous.

"May still at her meeting?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. New influx of Salvation Army refugees. Apparently some kind of attack on Morocco," Peter replied. The news was vague on the details but a google (not giigle) search last night had people posting about a 'walking cyclone' or something. Weird.

They helped Mayday set down the food and Peni beamed, " _Itadakimasu!_ " she shouted happily before quickly digging in. Ever since they got here she'd been gorging herself on as much food as she could get. Whenever he dropped by to visit she was always munching on one snack or another. Back home in 3145 most people ate food supplement - all the nutrients of a meal in one convenient pill. Even the candies she usually kept on her was frowned on, according to her.

"You heading to school?" Mayday asked him.

"Yeah. Same old, same old." He was sure Ned was gonna grill him as soon as he got in, but that was the least of his problems. There was Michelle too. She didn't know anything - or at least he was sure she didn't - but she was definitely suspicious. Her grilling him yesterday wasn't a good sign and he definitely didn't make it any better by running off with no explanation. He'd have to deal with it.

"Is something wrong, Pete?" Gwen asked.

"I...think my classmate's suspicious of you," he replied. Gwen raised a brow back and waited for him to continue, "I'm talking about Michelle. She...yesterday she was asking about you. I introduced you as Gwen Stacy when you saw them and I...kinda forgot that we have an exchange student with the exact same name. And that you're both being raised by police chiefs."

"Oh...shit." Gwen winced, "Fuck, that's my fault. I shouldn't have dropped in on you like that. Sorry."

"No, it's not your fault! It's just...it'll be harder to talk to her now that she's suspicious. I mean, it's not like I can avoid her: she's the head of the decathlon team! But I know she's gonna keep asking me about it and I dunno what to do."

"I'm guessing you can't just tell her it's all one big coincidence?" Mayday asked with a wry smile.

"Why don't you tell her our Gwen's a clone that had some Spider DNA mixed in? No one ever questions clones," Peni added.

"We don't have clones here!" Peter said back. There were a bunch of conspiracy theories about the government trying to clone Captain America but there wasn't any actual proof of that, "Besides, french Gwen doesn't even look like our Gwen. She looks more like my other friend Betty." He only vaguely recalled what this dimensions Gwen looked like but he definitely remembered her having black hair.

"Hmm, that complicates things." Mayday sighed, "How much do you trust this Michelle girl? Is she like that Ned guy from yesterday?"

"No. I mean I don't _not_ trust her, but I really don't wanna just tell her everything that's happened, you know?" Michelle was cool, but he wasn't sure if she was _that_ cool. She kept her cards close to her chest, "But didn't you guys say the less people knew about you the better?"

"That's pretty much standard operating procedure, yeah, but it's really just Noir and Jessica who are paranoid," Peni said, "Apart from you none of us are from this dimension so I don't really mind if people know who I am. It's not like it'll bug me when I go back home." She shrugged, "I have an open identity back home, too. People needed to trust SP/dr and that's pretty hard if there's no face behind the cockpit."

"I agree with Jessica and Noir. The less attention we draw on ourselves the better," Mayday said, "I don't really know what to tell you, Peter. Maybe try to convince her it's all just a big coincidence? It's not like you were close to the Gwen Stacy of this dimension."

"Worst case scenario just play dumb. Always works." Gwen gave him a goofy thumbs up.

"Thanks, guys..." He rolled his eyes and swallowed the next egg whole.

Ned was on him as soon as he got through the school entrance, "So when can I come visit again?" he asked excitedly. Peter looked around and gestured for his best friend to follow him, "They were really cool! That Peni girl's got really cool stuff about tech and energy and Jessica had some really cool stories about what being a super spy's like. I really gotta talk to them-"

"Ned, chill!" He dragged him to the bathroom and slammed the door behind them, "Yes, you can talk to them again, but _please_ keep it quiet! We're trying to keep it on the down low, you know?"

"Dude they've been running around New York for weeks now! Like, people think the guy with the trenchcoat is your dad or something." Peter had to hold back a laugh at that? Noir? His _dad_? Yeah, next they'd say Scarlet was his mom or something. Just cause they were the grumpiest in the group didn't make them the parents, "Anyway, when are they going back? Are they gonna visit again after they do? Could I-"

"Shh!" He looked around the (empty) bathroom again and pulled him close to whisper, "I told you, they'll go back once the dimensional gate things aren't busted anymore. And I don't know if any of them are coming back except for Gwen." They'd already agreed to visit each other whenever they could. It wasn't like it'd be hard - with their portal watches it was quicker and cheaper than taking the bus.

Karen kept asking where they'd live once they got married, but he ignored that thought. They were way too young to be thinking about that stuff.

"Oh, cool..." Ned suddenly seemed bummed. Peter led him out of the bathroom back to classes, keeping an eye out for Michelle as he went. It was silly. Spider-Man, the guy who helped fight Thanos and got taken to another dimension, scared because he couldn't tell a lie to a way too pushy classmate. Then again it was always like that. Michelle always seemed to know way more about him than everyone except Ned. She wasn't obsessed with him, she said, she was just very observant.

They were about to get inside the class when he spoke up again.

"Hey, Pete." Peter looked back. Ned looked...embarrassed? No, that wasn't the right word. Unsure, maybe? "So, uh...how well do you know all those guys?"

"Depends. I talked with Noir, Peni and Mayday a bunch but I really only met Scarlet and Jessica during the whole you know what. Why?"

"Well...do you know if Jessica and Mayday are dating anyone?"

"I...don't think so? But why do you-" Peter stopped and his eyes went as wide as the animal he was named after. This couldn't- was he seriously- no, couldn't be, "Er, I mean I'm...why do you wanna know?" Please, please, please tell him that his best friend wasn't in love with his possible future daughter and a female clone version of himself from another dimension. _Please_.

"Well, you know, I was gonna...maybe sorta ask one of them out?" Ned smiled awkwardly. Peter just looked at him with a blank, unreadable looked that masked the rising horror underneath, "Nothing too big or anything! There's just this cool pizza place that got built when we were all blipped and I thought it'd be cool to invite em over, maybe see if they liked pizza here than back in their own dimension."

"Oh...I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

_Cause one of them's my future daughter and the other's a female clone of me_ , he _didn't_ say cause he wasn't stupid. Instead he said the only other thing that came to mind, "Cause...they're gay." Ned just looked at him, as if that somehow needed elaboration, "You know...they like girls. Not guys."

"Oh, like...both of them?"

"Yep, totally. Both of them, not into guys. At all." He shook his head forcefully while mentally apologizing to them both. Okay so he _didn't know_ if they did or didn't like girls but Mayday definitely mentioned a couple of ex-boyfriends and a few guy crushes so that was definitely a lie. Still, it was a white lie for the greater good. Cause there was no way he was gonna tell Ned how weird it was that he found his future daughter and female clone hot.

"Oh...bummer."

"Wh-What about Scarlet? She's pretty hot." Also scary, but still hot.

"Eh...I agree with you there, but she's a bit too old for me. How old is she? Like 29 or 30?" 22 if he remembered right, but the way she acted he wasn't surprised Ned got it wrong. Hard to believe Noir was only 24 considering how _he_ acted, "So I don't think that's happening. Jessica and Mayday are the same age as us, at least."

"So's Peni."

"Yeah...but she looks like she's 10."

"True."

Class started on that awkward note. Peter did his best to pay attention to the lecture and not at all about the weird implications on his best friend's two crushes, _'Just don't think about about it...'_ He tapped his pen and listened to the teacher repeat the same lesson he already learned five years ago. Cause even though they get blipped away halfway through the year they still had to go back to beginning. And take midterms again.

Ned slid his chair next to his, "You're dating Spider-Gwen, right?"

"Yeah. And don't call her that," he whispered back.

"Okay but like...isn't she too old for you?"

"She's 20, Ned. It's not that big." 3 years. Why did people make such a big deal out of it? It wasn't like she was 40 or something. Even back in Gwen's dimension the Bugle kept trying to bring it up to discredit her. It made them both mad.

"So...who made the first move?"

"Ned! Not the time!" He shoved him away lightly and focused back on his notes. Yeah, he definitely wasn't going to tell Michelle. As pushy as Ned was at least he was his best friend and had his back. He wasn't so sure about Michelle. What would she do if she found out he was Spider-Man and that he knew other Spider-People from different dimensions? She wasn't a big twitter-holic or anything but she was a conspiracy theorist. He definitely remembered her joking(?) about how the Eiffel tower was used to brainwash France's populace.

Thankfully Ned got the hint and let him alone for the rest of the class, which allowed Peter to get some studying done. The peace and quiet lasted till lunchtime when Michelle walked up to their table with a pleased smile on her face, "Sup nerds," she said. Better than when she called them losers, even if Peter found it weird. They were all nerds, "Gonna attend the decathlon later?"

"Definitely." Ned nodded.

"I'm...not sure. Might be busy with something." It technically wasn't required but most of them still went. Solidarity and all that jazz.

"Hanging out with your neighbor again?" Before Peter could give back an epic and well-crafted excuse she waved her hand to gesture someone forward, "Oh well, I was gonna introduce her at today's meeting but since Peter's skipping might as well do it here first."

The girl behind her, who Peter didn't even see before, stepped forward with a slightly shy smile. She was tall and thin with pale skin, brown eyes and an outfit that looked a cross between goth and punk - a black skull jacket with an oversized hoodie, skinny jeans and boots. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and hidden under a purple beanie that had a cross pattern on the hem.

She looked...vaguely familiar.

Peter's stomach sank as Michelle introduced her with that all too knowing smile, "Ned, Peter, this is Gwen Stacy." Michelle looked him straight in the eyes, "Considering we're lacking in members I decided to start recruiting. I decided to ask Gwen here and she said yes."

"Y-Yeah, cool..." Peter wanted to run, but that'd just lead to even more questions.

"Nice to meet you both." Despite her loud appearance her voice was soft. The shy smile remained even as she held a hand up to shake theirs. Peter idly noted the multiple bands and rings on her fingers as he and Ned accepted the gesture, "I was actually thinking about joining five years ago before...you know what happened. Figured now's a good chance to make up for it, yeah?"

"T-Totally." Ned gave him a sideways glance and Peter resisted the urge to shrug back. Don't show anything. Don't give MJ any more ammo to use against him, "S-So, MJ, you find anybody else besides Gwen?"

"No luck so far. Most people aren't into the whole decathlon thing after coming back from the dead." She shrugged in a 'what can you do?' way that made Peter squirm in his seat, "But hey, even getting one more person's good and Gwen here's a real wiz when it comes to chemistry. Since Cindy graduated we really needed someone to cover that so it really works out."

"I'll do my best." Gwen - this dimensions's Gwen - laughed softly. Peter looked away? "Um...is something wrong? You two have been stiff since Michelle introduced me. " She looked legitimately worried at that. Great, that just made him feel worse, "Did I do something wrong?"

"Don't mind it. These two dorks just get googly eyed when they see pretty girls." Michelle looked right at Peter again, "Especially if they're smart. You should see her write-ups, Peter. Bet she's good enough to get into college."

"Alright. Michelle, we need to talk." He stood up, grabbed the taller brunette's wrist and dragged her out to the hall while Gwen and Ned just watched in confusion.

"...What was that about?" Gwen asked. So far this was a weird first introduction. She figured the remaining decathlon members would have a hard time accepting someone new after what happened five years ago but it was worth a shot. Didn't help that all of the friends she made five years ago were the lucky ones and didn't get blipped for five years. Making new friends was hard.

"Just...stuff. It's kinda their thing, ya know?" Ned shrugged awkwardly.

"O...kay then? I'll see you at the auditorium later, I guess." Gwen walked away slowly and stuffed her hands in her pockets. So far not a good first impression, but the two seemed nice enough. She heard Ned was really into computer games so she could talk about that. First step to making friends was finding common ground, according to her dad.

And Peter was...well, 'weird but cute' probably fit him best. She'd find some way to make friends with him.

Out in the hall, Peter let go of MJ once she was sure they were alone, "What are you doing?" he rounded on her and did his best to make an intimidating stare. Judging by her smirk it wasn't succeeding.

"Finding new members." She crossed her arms and leaned with her back against the lockers, "What's wrong? You don't have a problem with Gwen, right?"

"You know what you're exactly what you're doing!" Peter hissed. Or at least he tried to. It sounded more like he really needed to cough, "Look, I'm telling you right now I don't care what you do, I'm not telling you anything."

"So you're telling me there's _something_ that I'd want you to answer?" she asked back.

"That's not what I-" His phone rang. The two of them looked at one another in complete silence before Peter slowly pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. It was Mayday, "Mayday, now's not really a good-"

"Emergency Spider meeting. Now." Her voice was clipped and screamed 'don't argue with me if you value your life'. Peter just thanked whatever God was out there that it wasn't on speaker, "Find a way to cut the rest of your classes. This is important."

"But-"

She cut the call. Peter looked down at the screen again when Michelle spoke up again, "Got somewhere to be?" He didn't get a chance to reply before she continued, "Go ahead. I'll tell the teach you had food poisoning and had to go. Just make sure to get a sick note from your aunt or something."

"Wait. You're helping me? Why?"

"Just cause I'm curious doesn't mean we're not friends." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Now go on, do your really important _something_. I'll make sure no one asks any questions."

"...I'm still not telling you anything."

"I know." She smirked again, "Don't worry, I'll find out on my own. It's not any fun if you just tell me all the answers." She began to walk down before she stopped and looked back at him, "Oh, and I didn't just get Gwen to mess with you, if you're wondering. We really do need more people and the decathlon and she was the only one who said yes so far. Don't wanna get disbanded or anything."

"Sure." He nodded blankly and walked the opposite way. First he had to figure out what Mayday wanted.

* * *

"What do you mean you two kidnapped someone?!" Gwen shouted at Noir and Scarlet. To her right Mayday was pinching the bridge of her nose while across from them Scarlet and Noir just stood with their arms crossed with no signs of guilt.

So...apparently they kidnapped someone. Scarlet told them that the guy was planning to bomb an entire city block but Mayday and Gwen still thought it wasn't the best thing to do. He, Jessica and Mayday weren't exactly sure on where they fell. Sure he'd never kidnapped someone before, but bombing a city block was a pretty big deal. That went past criminals straight into terrorists.

"Mommy and daddy are fighting again," Peni said sarcastically, idly rubbing her spider's thorax with one finger. She was sitting on top of her deactivated mech and hadn't said a word in favor of or against either side so far.

"I agree with Noir and Scarlet on principle, but this is hardly the best spot for an interrogation." She looked around the shabby room. It was spacious, but that was the only good thing to say about it. The walls and floor were dilapidated, it smelled like mold and the furniture looked older than he was. Hard to believe Noir slept here without needing a decontamination afterwards.

"Listen, Stacy, it was either this or we give him over to the crime lord. Least this way we can find out who tried make the city go boom," Noir said.

"Why not try the police? You know, the people who can probably help out with this sort of thing?" Mayday shot back.

Scarlet snorted, "Please, when was the last time either of you two let the police handle something?" They both didn't say anything, "Let's not forget we're all vigilantes, even Tiger there." She nudged her head to where Peter stood, "We can't exactly just drop this guy off at the station then pretty please ask them to keep us in the loop. Best they'll do is not arrest us."

"Still, _kidnapping_ someone?" Gwen asked.

"Know a better way? The bulletproof man didn't exactly give us a lot of options." Noir scoffed.

"Wait, did you say bulletproof man?" Peter asked. Noir let out a barely heard grunt, "I think I know that guy? Luke Cage, right? The Hero of Harlem?" They didn't have any official team-ups or anything but Peter knew about him and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Both of them had a reputation before he got blipped. So much happened he forgot to check if they were part of the dusting or not.

"Your 'hero' is running a crime family, Tiger," Scarlet said.

"What? That...doesn't make any sense. He was trying to help people last I saw him."

"Five years can change a person." Jessica said grimly, "Either way we have to decide what we're doing here now. Noir, Scarlet, what's the plan?"

"We were hoping we could 'ask' this guy what he knew about who supplied him the bomb and see if we can go from there," Scarlet said, "Figured we should tell the rest of you guys what was up, especially Tiger. It _is_ his city and someone's trying to blow up city blocks. I thought you'd want in on this."

"I'm not really good at the whole interrogation thing." He still remembered the last disaster interrogation mode was.

"You can leave that to us." Noir said. Mayday didn't look pleased with that, "Point is you know this city better than anyone and..." He trailed off and suddenly put his mask back on. Peter was about to ask what was wrong before all their spider-senses (sans Gwen's) suddenly rang in tandem, "Masks on! Now!"

They all hurriedly put on their masks and Peni barely managed to scramble into her mech before the ceiling above them suddenly collapsed, scattering dust and mold everywhere as everything went black, "Lights are gone! Can anyone see in the dark?!" Jessica shouted.

Noir and Peni replied in the affirmative while Peter turned on his suit's nightvision. Even with his new sight it was still hard to see. The dust and mold was scattered everywhere and he could barely see in front of him. Even the flashlight from SP/dr's chassis didn't help, "Ugh, Noir, you should've picked a better place!" Peni shouted.

"Thought that gizmo of yours could see just fine?"

"This is a scouting unit! And I haven't fully repaired it yet-"

Four figures dropped down from above. Peter looked around frantically till Peni suddenly shrieked as one of the figures punched through SP/dr's chassis with a single fist. Peter moved immediately, jumping onto guy's back and pulled him away before he could grab at Peni, "Hey, pick on someone your own-" He reached out behind him and grabbed Peter's leg, "-size?"

He was smashed against the ground and rolled to the side to avoid the stomp aimed straight at his chest. He webbed two of the hooded figure's feet while he heard the rest of their group fighting, "My mech!" Peni shouted in a rage. She grabbed the man's hands with SP/dr's pincer like hands and pulled him while Peter did the same in the opposite direction.

The big guy fell with a loud slam and Peter pinned him down in a ton of webbing, "Stay there for a sec, okay?" He webbed his face one last time for good measure then looked for the others. Noir and Jessica were fighting someone with a glowing(?) fist while Scarlet was doing the same with someone else he couldn't make out. That left Mayday and Gwen fighting 2-on-1 against a guy who looked weirdly familiar.

Peter tried to hit his back only for the guy to dodge and toss a stick at his head, "Woah, close one!" He grabbed the stick out of the air and looked down briefly. Looked like a nightstick with a wire attached.

He webbed it to the ceiling and jumped up behind the guy. He was doing a good job dodging both Gwen's and Mayday's kicks and flipped over Peter when he tried to hit his back, "Fast!" He looked back and, for the first time, clearly saw the devil-like mask through the dust and mold.

Peter knew who he was.

"Wait, guys, hold up! STOP FIGHTING!" The enhanced interrogation shout was enough to stop all of the fights. Daredevil knelt down in a wary position but titled his head to the side, just waiting for his next move, "We're fighting heroes! Heroes!" He shouted again, " This is Daredevil! He's the big-time Superhero over in Hell's Kitchen! We shouldn't be fighting him!"

"Bit late for that, isn't it?" Noir snarled.

"This must be a misunderstanding or something! Let's talk this out!" Peter put his hands up and slowly walked towards the crouching Daredevil. Even from his position Peter could tell he was much bigger than him, "I dunno why you attacked us, but I think we should talk. Unless you secretly became evil the last five years. Please tell me you didn't." Make jokes. Jokes always broke through the tension. Mr. Stark taught him that.

It was only for a second, but he definitely saw Daredevil crack a smile, "Not when I last checked." He stood up properly, "Hmm, I didn't think you'd suggest a parlay. From what Luke told us you Spiders weren't much for conversation."

"Luke Cage?" He looked back and, through the thinning dust, saw said hero pushing through the web blankets while Peni glared down at him through the hole in her screen.

"Yeah. He said he tried to play nice and two of you just ignored him." Another man's voice said. The one with the glowing fist was pinned to the ground with Jessica holding both his arms down while Noir pointed a gun at his gut. He either didn't notice or didn't care, "If we can talk this out then I say we go for it. That's how I wanted to do it in the first place."

"Could we have this talk when we're not in this dark shitpit?" The last one groused. Scarlet had her slammed against the wall, one hand holding her neck while the other was morphed into a blade with the edge almost cutting her stomach, "And could you back off on the gutting? You heard Spider boy, he wants to talk."

"...What do you think?" Scarlet asked them.

"If Spider-Man's right then we can do this all peaceful like. I'm game," Gwen said.

"I'm not! They broke SP/dr's chassis!" Peni shouted in-between her coughs.

"We can fix it later, Peni. If there's a peaceful solution we should take it." Mayday said, "What about you, Daredevil? You wanna play nice or you wanna keep fighting?"

"Considering you outmatch us I don't think we have a choice. Yes, let's talk."

Jessica, Noir and Scarlet reluctantly bulled back and let the rest of Daredevil's group up. The dust thinned even more and Peter got a better look at them. There was Daredevil in his armor, which made him stick out compared to the other three. Luke Cage wore a dull gray hoodie and track pants while the woman next to him had a leather jacket with jeans. The guy with the glowing fist was the only other one who tried to disguise himself with a cloth covering the lower half of his face and a tracksuit that covered the rest of him.

"So...we all friends now?" The woman with the leather jacket asked.

"Not yet." Noir smiled sardonically through his slightly torn mask, "But let's follow what the kid wants and...talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've got progress on two fronts. First Michelle pushed hard and adds MCU Gwen Stacy to the decathlon team while on the superhero front the Spider gang and the Defenders are now forced to talk like adults. Oh and Peni's mech gets wrecked again, cause being the one person with a mech means you're free game to get injured.
> 
> And yes, MCU Gwen Stacy will be a supporting character alongside future segments assuming people don't violently hate her from her first appearance. Might be fun to see how she interacts with Peter and 65-Gwen, especially with her being determined to make friends with Peter despite his initial discomfort.
> 
> I'm sorry for people expecting a better Defenders vs Spider Gang fight but it's the only way I thought to make it slightly fair. Apart from Luke the Defenders are far weaker than their comic counterparts while the Spiders have comic book levels of strength, and they're outnumbered to boot. In a straight up fight it would've ended with a total stomp for everyone except for Luke, and even then Scarlet or Gwen could've taken him down eventually.
> 
> Question:
> 
> 1\. Do you guys still want romance shenanigans? While Spider-Gwen and MCU Peter are already set some people did want to tackle Michelle's canon crush on Peter as well. Also, while not a full romance, I could add some lighthearted/goofy moments between Peter and MCU Gwen. Nothing serious, but it could lead to some funny convos.


	5. New Partners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been getting reviews asking if this fic is dead. No it's not but I've already established I'm not good at writing lighthearted romance fics so of course updates are going to be more sparse. Sorry about that but I can't help if I'm not good at it.
> 
> That and I've been dealing with stuff like new games and upcoming Thesis defense so that makes it harder to write romance. Hopefully this is enough cause until I manage to get some time this is all I can give.
> 
> Also, some people have suggested a possible harem and I'm gonna say now it ain't happening. While ship tease isn't off the table Peter/Gwen is pretty much set.

So...this was awkward.

Peter shifted from one foot to another and took an uncomfortable drink from his can of soda and looked at the two groups. After he got them to stop fighting they mutually agreed to go someplace to talk. Mr. Cage offered his club but Noir, Scarlet and Jessica immediately stamped that down. They didn't really like the idea of going a place filled with gangsters that he controlled.

Peni refused too, but it was pretty obvious that she just didn't like Mr. Cage wrecking her robot.

Eventually they agreed to go to Ms. Jones' place. Half of them were still wary going to some place they didn't know about but it was better than going in a rooftop where someone could snag a picture or listen in. Daredevil was worried too but Ms. Jones just said that she 'didn't do the whole secret identity thing so any asshole can just google where she lives'. Her words, not his.

The place was cramped. It reminded her of the old place she and May had before the blip. The walls had peeling paint and the rooms were too small for eleven people; though a lot of places would be, to be fair. The one thing that drew his attention was all the bottles of alcohol everywhere. A couple on top of the fridge, a few empty ones at the couch and a half-filled one on her desk. The entire place smelled of it and he half-expected to have a hangover tomorrow.

The two groups stuck to their own corners. Daredevil and Mr. Cage crossed their arms and didn't say anything while Ms. Jones halfheardy drank her cup of whiskey. To his right were his fellow Spiders. Peni and Mayday sat on the couch while the other Spiders sans Noir either clung to the walls or hung on the ceiling. Neither of the groups said anything but the tension was thick enough to cut with a lightsaber. Especially Peni who continuously death glared at Mr. Cage with unblinking eyes. He actually looked uncomfortable as much as he tried to hide it.

The only ones in the center were him and Iron Fist. Peter didn't know him very well but he'd agreed the most about making peace, "So..." Iron Fist clapped his hands. It was far louder than normal in the small, quiet space, "Spider-Man suggested that we all talk and try to figure out a compromise. So...let's talk."

"I dunno what's there to talk about," Mr. Cage said, "Just gimme that guy who tried to bomb my club and we all go our separate ways. Sounds fair."

"Last I checked gangsters cared more about sending a message than actually solving problems," Noir scoffed. He was leaning against the wall his arms crossed and the harsh, dim light made him look like something out of a Batman comic, "We hand him over to you and any lead we have on finding the guy pulling the strings is going down the Hudson river in cement shoes."

"Do you think I'm stupid? Someone obviously just paid off that guy and I'm not going to risk more bombings just to get rid of a hired good."

"Alright maybe I'm just being a killjoy here but you ever think maybe we just cut out the vigilante and crime lord bullshit and just hand him over to the cops?" Ms. Jones said.

"I kinda suggested that earlier..." Mayday muttered.

"We aren't exactly on friendly terms with the police here," Scarlet said, "If we just hand the guy over we can kiss any chance of a lead goodbye. We'll give him over to the cops once we get the info on him, that's it."

"Maybe it's ironic for me to say but why do any of you have to be involved?" Daredevil asked, "Unless the police are incapable of solving this crime, and we have no reason to think they aren't, leaving the witness to them seems like the best option."

"And what happens if they can't? Another place gets blown up? Not a chance," Gwen said. The mask of her eyes were narrowed and she hadn't stopped glaring at Daredevil ever since they all grouped up. He'd ask her why later, "Maybe you're fine with risking innocent people, but we're not." Peter didn't point out how she and Mayday weren't exactly fans of the whole kidnapping thing earlier.

"Hey, no one's saying we wanna risk innocent people," Iron Fist said defensively, "But there's really no point in arguing, is there? We both want the same thing."

"He's right." Peter nodded, "Maybe Mr. Cage, Noir and Scarlet made poor first impressions but we all wanna make sure there aren't any more terrorist attacks in the city." So far crime was pretty low without any new villains but Jessica said it wouldn't last. Right now people were too relieved to be alive again or sticking to small crimes like purse snatching and petty theft to get enough money to feed themselves. Once the lull past, she said, crime would come back worse than ever.

"No offense but I don't really trust the word of a crime lord. All that bullshit about being the devil you know never actually works." Scarlet scoffed. That was another thing. Apparently Mr. Cage really was a crime lord, which was...well, it was really disappointing. Even before he got blipped he heard rumors about the Hero of Harlem and wanted to meet him. Maybe they could've teamed up or something.

"I don't trust him either." Peni gave the towering man a look that could peel paint while her spider bared its fangs on her shoulder. He shifted from one foot to another and pointedly looked away.

"Well we gotta do something. If you assholes can't stop pissing on each other whoever sent that guy to bomb Harlem's paradise is gonna going going," Ms. Jones said, "We don't gotta be friends or anything. You hate each other? Fine. But if you don't stop glaring at each other you might as well drop the guy off with the cops so someone actually does do something about it."

"I agree." Jessica hopped down from the roof and landed with a small thump on the center table without managing to displace any of the empty bottles, "I've been through my fair share of left hand vs right hand and it never gets any less stupid. We're already breaking the law by kidnapping someone so working with the crime boss who doesn't want his place bombed isn't a bad idea."

"But-"

"It doesn't have to be a permanent thing," Daredevil said, cutting off Peni's protest, "We're not asking for complete trust or to be a team. We both want the same thing and have no reason to turn on one another. We only need to cooperate for as long as we find the guy pulling his strings. Sound fair?"

"Wouldn't be what I'd call it..." Gwen muttered.

"It sounds fair," Peter said before anyone else could protest, "Daredevil's right. We can work together to find this guy and it'll be better if we aren't fighting. I mean we can all agree that we don't want Harlem to turn into a crater, right?" He looked between the two groups. They all reluctantly nodded, some slower than others, "See? There's no point in fighting here. Let's save it for the actual bad guys."

"Don't forget there's an actual crime lord in the room, Tiger," Scarlet said lightly. Despite her tone Peter didn't miss the way the fingers on her right hand shifted to claws before quickly changing back.

"So we're all agreed. We work together on this till we can find out who's behind trying to bomb places," Mayday said. Her tone left no room for argument.

They all agreed with varying degrees of enthusiasm and Iron Fist spoke next, "We're gonna need places to meet. You guys - uh, Spiders - didn't wanna go to Luke's club and I doubt Jess wants us crashing her place all the time."

"I'll deal with it. Shouldn't be too hard to find any abandoned buildings, especially not after what happened to this place," Noir said, "More important we gotta find a way to keep contact. None of us here are gonna unmask and I doubt anyone here wants to give their personal 'celullar phone' numbers." Ms. Jones raised a brow. Probably cause of the way he said that.

"We can't all focus on the same leads. There's enough of us here that we can afford to branch out," Daredevil said, "Since we're going to be sharing intel I should probably tell you that Luke found an encrypted data drive a few weeks ago that might be connected to whoever supplying these bombs. The issue now is unlocking it since whoever made its security measures was very careful. Any attempt to crack it hasn't worked so far."

"Oh, then Peni might be..." Peter trailed off when she saw the death glare the younger girl was still sporting. He'd fought Thanos in Titan and he wasn't as scared then as when Peni turned to him, "Uh...I mean, only if she wants."

Mr. Cage shifted uncomfortably, "I don't think that's a good-"

"I'd be happy to help!" Peni said suddenly, giving Mr. Cage a beaming smile. Her eyes didn't match her expression.

"I'm not any good at that tech wazoo so I'll keep investigating."

"Same," Jessica said.

"Guess we'll be working together, then," Ms. Jones said. She finally set her cup of whiskey down, "Just make sure you two don't drag behind. I'm not babysitting either of you."

"We'll be fine. Just make sure you don't assault someone again before I get my next lead." Ms. Jones blinked, trying to process what the heck that meant, before Iron Fist cut in.

"I'll do some investigating too. I've been hearing rumors from the triads that there's this new player in town and that he was really into weapons smuggling. Maybe I can find something there," Iron Fist said.

"I can help with that," Peter said. So far Iron Fist seemed like he was the most reasonable. That and Peter would've been lying if he said he wasn't curious about the guy with the glowing fist.

"Count me in too. Triads sound like something right up my alley," Scarlet said.

"Guess that leaves me and Spider-Woman to work with Daredevil," Mayday said. It was clear that Gwen wasn't happy about it but she didn't say anything. Daredevil shifted his head slightly to look at her and she looked away defensively, "We can buy some burner phones by tomorrow then meet up here again so we can pass out numbers. After that we can do our own investigating. Sound fair?"

"Sure. Just don't all come in at the same time again. My landlord's gonna kick me out if we do this shit again," Ms. Jones said.

They went their separate ways after that. The rest of the Spiders went back home while and Gwen swung back home in complete silence. He didn't like it. Gwen usually had a quip or comment and made sure their swing-alongs never felt boring. Now she was swinging ahead of him and ignored his attempts to talk to her through their comms. She really wasn't happy.

They barely crawled through the window to his room and unmasked before he grabbed her hand, "Hey..." She turned around and her scowl turned to a look of guilt covered her face, "...Are you okay?"

"Yes. No. I dunno." She sighed and they both sat down on his bed, "It's just...ah, it's stupid. You'll think I'm being a moron."

"Talk to me. I promise I won't judge."

"Sure about that?" She smiled, though it was strained, "It's just...I think I know who Daredevil is."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I've been through the alternate dimension rodeo a few times. It's...I think he's Matt Murdock." Peter's brows furrowed. Matt Murdock, the former kingpin of crime who ruined Gwen's life back in her home, "Every time I go to another dimension he's always Daredevil. Like how Peter Parker is always Spider-Man." He squeezed her hand, "It's like the universe taking a dump on my cereal."

"You hate him?"

"Yeah," she said again with a nod, "And I know it's stupid. Every time I've seen Daredevil he's apparently this big time hero and a force of good and justice but I just...I can't remove it. Every time I think of him all I remember is the smug bastard who smiled when he tried to break, laughed when he told me that Rhino beat my dad into a coma and I was so busy with my own problems I couldn't be there to help him."

"Gwen..."

"And I know I'm being a big hypocrite! You're not my Peter any more than Noir is and I can accept that but with Murdock it's just-"

He pulled her into a sudden hug. It wasn't strong - she could've pushed him away easily if she wanted - but she leaned into the embrace and pressed her face against the crook of his neck, "It's alright, Gwen." He rubbed soothing circles against the small of her back the same way Uncle Ben did when he was a kid, "I don't blame you for hating the guy after everything he did to you. Just...please try to remember that this Daredevil wasn't the one who did all those things."

"...Okay." She nodded and closed her eyes, "Sorry for ruining the mood."

"You didn't." He pulled back slightly and smiled at her, "Remember, if you ever need to talk to me you just have to ask. I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for you so if you need someone to vent to then I'm always here. Okay?"

"Sure." She smiled, and this time it was genuine. He smiled back, "I'm just being a drama queen, I guess. I'll cool it when I meet up with him next time." She looked at the clock on the wall. A few minutes past 10 pm. He really needed to sleep; he still had school tomorrow, "Hey...you mind if I crash here for the night? May said that she was gonna be doing Salvation Army stuff and wasn't coming back."

The invitation was clear as day. If he was stronger he might've told her he needed to really turn in or that May told them to tone down any R18 stuff while they were still living together.

"Sure. Totally. No problem."

He wasn't a strong person.

By the time he woke up the sun was high in the sky and someone was knocking on his door, "Bwuh?" He looked up slightly from his face down position and blinked out the blurriness in his eyes. Next to him Gwen was still sleeping with the blanket covering her body. They were both naked and their clothes were scattered around the bed and floor in messy heaps.

Before he could tell whoever it was on the other side to wait a second the door suddenly opened and Ned stepped through, "Hey dude, we really gotta- woah!" The scream was enough to jolt Gwen awake. She slipped off the bed and landed on her feet in battle ready position.

For a second there was nothing but quiet. Gwen and Ned just looked at each other, eyes wide, till Ned's eyes looked down just a bit and Gwen remembered she was still in the buff, "Bit of privacy, please!" she shouted. Ned rushed out and closed the door behind him, shouting apologies all the while. Again an awkward quiet settled over the two of them and Gwen winced, "This is a first."

"Yeah..." Peter rubbed the back of his head and quickly got some clothes from the nearby closet for the both of them. Gwen wasn't much of a Star Wars fan but she didn't complain when he handed her the bright blue printed shirt, "I'll...talk to Ned. He won't say anyithing to May." He somehow managed to keep the whole Spider thing under wraps, "I'll see you later?"

"Definitely."

They shared a quick kiss then changed clothes. Peter was out of the room in under a minute and found Ned at the couch looking down at his ipad with a very forced expression of 'I didn't just see Spider-Woman naked', "...Hey." His head snapped up at Peter's greeting and the tablet fell to the ground. Peter shot a webline before it could make impact and pulled it towards him, "Careful. Don't wanna break it again."

"Yeah, thanks..." Ned took it back and looked down at his shoes, "So...you and Spider-Woman are-"

"Could we not talk about it?" Peter said quickly.

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah, sure! I just wanted to apologize. Didn't think I'd walk in on you two...you know."

"It happens." Not to him, but it did happen. He shook his head, "Look, why did you wanna come over anyway?"

"Huh? Oh, this." They both left to go to school while Gwen pulled up a drawing on the ipad's screen, "See remember when were talking about the nanomachines in your suit and how we could improve it?"

"Sure. What about it?"

"So I was chatting with Karen - she's really nice, by the way - and we were actually thinking that maybe we can use the nanos for something besides buffing up the suit. Remember when Iron Man had the Iron Legion? Think Spider Legion! You make a bunch of other Spider-Men with the nanomachines and Karen can control them. You can be, like, a one man army! Total Mantorok from Beast Slayer vibe!"

"That's...awesome!" he yelled. A few people turned to look at him and he lowered his voice, "Yeah, that'll be really cool! Like I go fight the bad guys while the Spider clone goes and helps people or calls the police. Definitely make things easier."

"Yep. It's still just planning stuff but if the three of us work on it then we can totally get this Spider Legion thing going."

They chatted excitedly all the way to school. Lessons passed by in a blur and before he knew it lunchtime came. He and Ned looked through the crowded halls for anywhere to sit until a hand waved through the air, "Hey losers, over here," Michelle called. Peter looked and barely held back a grimace when he saw her and the other Gwen sitting across one another. There was nowhere else to sit.

"Hey, Peter." Gwen smiled. God, it felt weird calling her that, even though it shouldn't be.

"H-Hey." He tried to smile back. Judging by the way she blinked owlishly at him it probably didn't look too good, "So, uh...Gwen, Ned said you already signed up for the decathlon team?"

"Yep! MJ said she was gonna introduce me to the rest of the team after classes finish." MJ already? That was fast. It took them years before they got to the nickname stage, "I'm actually kinda nervous. Any advice for the newbie?"

"Nothing really. They're all pretty cool." Except Flash. He didn't _hate_ the guy but he wasn't exactly going to be shedding tears if he had to move away to Alaska or something, "Actually, my advice is plug your ears whenever Flash talks. Your brain cells will thank you later."

"I'll keep that in mind." Gwen II laughed under her breath. Michelle gave him a _look_ and Peter ignored her.

Introducing Gwen to the rest of the decathlon went pretty well. Everyone, even Flash, was happy to have a new member and they accepted her with open arms. They all separated into their own little study corners with Gwen joining him and Ned. He had to admit, identity awkwardness aside Stacy (it was better than calling her Gwen II) was cool to talk to. And pretty good with history, which was useful. He was always pretty bad at it.

"So let's make a deal. You help me get my Physics up to an A+ and I'll cover you for history. Deal?" she asked with a grin. He tried to ignore how similar it looked to Gwen despite them looking completely different.

"Deal." They shook hands and got to work. As long as they were just focusing on the books the awkwardness from yesterday went away.

They'd exchanged tips for an hour when another voice cut in, "Hey, loser." Peter grimaced as Flash walked towards them with a grin. Five years being blipped didn't change him much, "Trying to cozy up to the new girl already? Try not to be so desperate, huh?"

"Flash, would you just-"

"Screw off, dude." Stacy said. Flash's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sudden backlash, "You're not big man on campus and no one cares that you have a better car than the rest of us. It doesn't change the fact that you have a tiny dick and that no one here likes you." Her lips quirked up in a sickly sweet smile while Flash, Peter and Ned gaped. Where the hell did that come from?"

"Hey I was just-"

"No one cares. Just leave us alone so we can get some actual studying done. Not all of us can afford to have our parents pay to let us in here."

Flash's face went beet red with anger and he looked like he was about to shout something before thinking better of it and stomping off. Gwen looked at him and Ned and blinked, "What?"

"That was...kinda harsh," Ned said.

"Not really? I've seen how he hassles Peter and some of the other students and I heard about the whole Penis Parker thing." Peter winced, "See? I figured that guy needed a taste of his own medicine. I dunno how you guys deal with him."

"He kinda grows on you. Like a fungus," Peter snarked.

"Ha. Yeah...I hate bullies. Old friend I had back in France dropped out of school because this girl wouldn't stop hassling her. So if that Flash turd starts talking crap then I'm not just gonna 'live with it'." She tapped her book with a grin, "Now can we finish the lesson? I promised my dad I'd get a better grade on my next test."

Another half hour of learning passed. He and Gwen exchanged numbers and he almost typed her in as 'Gwen' in the contacts before remembering to change it. No need to be confused, "So I'll see you around?" Gwen asked, adjusting the straps of her backpack. Like the rest of her style it was instricately designed with the purple surface covered in a mess of pins and a sharpie drawing.

"Sure. Just gimme a heads up if you need anything." His smile came easy this time.

Peter walked to his lockers and stuffed a few books in when foosteps came from his right, "Hey." MJ leaned against the locker with his arms crossed.

"Hey...?"

"Looks like you and Gwen are getting along," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah. She's cool."

"Familiar, maybe?" Peter pointedly pursed his lips and didn't say anything. Michelle held her hands up, "I'm just saying. Anyway. how was your thing yesterday?"

"My thing? ...Oh, yeah, that." He'd almost forgotten Michelle saw after everything that happened, "It was nothing. May just needed help with some of the Salvation Army stuff. They've been pretty busy lately." It was a good enough excuse. Technically he did help May a bunch as Spider-Man.

"Oh? Coulda sworn I heard Spider in there somewhere."

'Yeah...there was a big spider in the office."

"And she called you to get rid of it?"

"Yes."

She just looked at him flatly while he shifted from one foot to another. Most people had gone home already so the hallway was deserted except for the two of them, "Right...well, I just wanted to give you something. You dropped it in chem class."

She tossed him a capped vial that he caught automatically. He looked down at the glass on his palm and his heart practically jumped to his throat when he saw the thick, white web fluid inside. Did she...no, she couldn't have known. Without the webshooter mechanisms it was thick and sticky but nothing that couldn't be chalked up to a chemistry mistake.

"Uh...thanks. But you know you could've just tossed it. It's just something I messed up in chem class."

"Really? What were you trying to make?"

"It a while ago. Don't even remember." Peter shut his locker, "So listen, I really gotta go. I have something to do."

"More spiders?" Her smirk widened.

"Uh...no. Gotta help prepare dinner." He gripped his backpack tightly and fastwalked out of school. Okay, she was definitely suspicious. Did she think he was Spider-Man? No, wouldn't make sense. As far as everyone knew he was blipped and spent the first couple of weeks trying to adjust to the world like the rest of them. Maybe she thought he knew Spider-Man, then? That would make sense.

He ducked into an alley and changed into his suit. He agreed to meet up with Scarlet before they went to Ms. Jones' place.

Scarlet was crouched over a high building's roof with her mask off. She didn't look up when he landed behind her, "Sup." She waved slightly but kept looking down at the afternoon view. Peter crouched down next to her and hummed. Even after being Spider-Man for a few years there were times he stopped at high places and just looked at the view. Really reminded him of why he put on the suit.

"Something on your mind?"

"Just feeling homesick." She turned slightly to look at him and he was reminded of the Mary Jane back in Gwen's dimension. They looked almost identical but there was an edge to Scarlet that the Mary Jane he knew didn't have, "I mean no offense to your dimension, Tiger, but there really is no place like home."

"Yeah, I get that." He nodded. As much as he enjoyed spending time with Gwen in her home he couldn't ignore the longing feeling of going back to his New York, "And...I'm sorry that you're stuck here."

"It's not your fault. All of us decided we wanted in on saving a whole dimension and it does make me feel better about myself." Because she killed people. Peter tried his best not to but Mr. Stark taught him that sometimes it was necessary. Scarlet, Noir, Jessica, and even Peni weren't afraid to kill, "Anyway we should really go to that Jones place. Crimson's getting antsy to deal with some Triads."

"You're not gonna go too far...right?"

"Depends on what they did."

She let herself fall and swung away before he could respond. With a sigh, Peter followed her lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Defenders team-up underway. For those who want a full list of who's teaming up with who:
> 
> Jessica Jones - Jessica Drew and Noir
> 
> Matt Murdock - Gwen and Mayday
> 
> Iron Fist - Peter and Scarlet
> 
> Luke Cage - Peni Parker
> 
> Gwen with Daredevil seemed like a no-brainer and Peni's with Luke mostly for the hilarity of her being really pissy at him for wrecking her mech and somehow intimidating a guy when she barely comes up to his waist. Jones is with Drew and Noir cause of the detective angle while Iron Fist and MCU Peter fit with being good bois while Scarlet gives them a bit of an edge to work with.
> 
> This also means interacting with the side characters like Noir and Drew talking with Malcolm or Gwen and Mayday talking with Foggy and Karen Page.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. I put a poll up on fanfiction.net to see if people wanna tackle the EDITH plot or change Mysterio's motivation for something non-Stark related. Please vote there on your thoughts.
> 
> 2\. Which pairs do you wanna see first in the next chapter? Pick any of the four above.


	6. Jolly Cooperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years! I wanted to do this before the new year hit where I live but I got lazy. Oh well, New Years Day is good enough. As per the votes this chapter will focus on the groups of Mayday/Gwen/Daredevil and Peni/Luke. Next chapter will be Scarlet/IronFist/MCU Peter and Jessica/Jessica/Noir.
> 
> Also, votes for Original Plot vs EDITH plot is perfectly equal currently with 14 votes each over on ff.net. Guess some people really do want Mysterio to be a non-Iron Man villain.

Well...this was awkward.

Mayday shifted from one foot to another and crossed her arms. She agreed to meet up with Gwen and Daredevil but so far their third addition was late and with every minute that passed Gwen's mood only worsened.

She looked at the other Spider pacing left and right in front of her. It started off with just a few mumbled words under her breath and tapping her foot impatiently. Now she was walking like clockwork with her hands clenching and unclenching into tight, shaky fists.

This was a bad idea. She knew Gwen had issues with Daredevil because of her own experiences but it'd slipped her mind when she first volunteered them. She asked her earlier if she wanted to skip out, told her that she could handle it on her own, but Gwen insisted that she could be cool. Anything to help Peter, she said. A sweet thought but it was really obvious that it was easier said than done.

"Where the hell is he?" Gwen muttered. The sun was down and the lights of the city that never sleeps shined bright against Gwen's back. This New York was different from her's and Gwen's. She still remembered the neon lights and advertisements from Gwen's dimension. Gave her a headache the first couple of times she went and she'd joked with Gwen about how she lived in a bad cyberpunk comic.

Here everything felt...she didn't know how to describe it. It was pretty close to Mayday's own New York but it was clear the Richards family hadn't boosted up tech yet. Reminded her of the pictures her dad showed when he was just a teenager. Except for flip phones. Her dimension still had those while every other one she'd been to always used those weird, flat smartphones. She didn't see what was so smart about them.

"Chill, Gwen. He'll be here," Mayday said.

"How do you know?" Gwen stopped pacing and looked at her with narrowed eyes, "You don't know who this guy is-"

"And neither do you." Mayday interrupted firmly. As much as she hated being the nagging hero sometimes it was necessary. Teaming up with people like Darkdevil or Buzz meant she had to do it more than she would've liked, "I get that you have issues with your Daredevil but he hasn't given us a reason to not trust him. Remember, he was the first one to agree with Spider-Man that we needed to stop fighting."

Gwen crossed her arms and looked away, the mask of her eyes narrowed. Even without seeing her face Mayday could see the frown clear as day, "...Fine." Gwen sat atop the nearby ventilation fan and crossed her right leg over her right, foot bobbing up and down restlessly. Mayday sighed. She really should've just kept her mouth shut about volunteering them both. Or maybe taken someone else. Noir might've been a jerk but he usually kept his thoughts to himself.

Another fifteen minutes passed before Daredevil's red streaked figure eventually landed a short distance away. From what she remembered of her dad's stories Daredevil never actually had any powers; and he was blind on top of it. There was a reason they called him the Man Without Fear.

"Sorry for being late. Something came up," he said. Mayday heard the slight strain in his breath and furrowed her brows worriedly, "Heard stories about an old...acquaintance that's come back to town."

"We were waiting," Gwen said flatly.

"Sorry again." He let out a tired breath and and looked out to the city. Mayday had to remind herself that he was (most likely) blind. The way he carried himself wasn't close to any other kind of blind man, "If it helps, my...acquaintance put me on the track for a lead we could follow. While Luke and your friend are searching for who created such a high yield explosive we might be able to track who's actually distributing it around the streets. Or at least sold it to this specific crime boss."

"Uh-huh. This distributor got a name?" Gwen asked.

"Guy by the name of Turk Barret. Familiar to either of you?" She and Gwen looked at one another. Mayday shook her head while Gwen shrugged, "Thought so. He's made a bit of a name for himself in some circles but the reason he's survived for so long is because he knows to keep his head down."

"We're kind new to this place. Not really sure who the big names are." Mayday said carefully. She wasn't exactly keen on telling anyone outside the group about the whole 'came here from another dimension' thing.

"Turk's hardly a big name. He's an opportunist, plain and simple. Usually prefers to stick to small times arms deals where he doesn't put himself at risk. Whatever his buyer was offering it must've been big enough that he decided to put his head out again." His mouth curled in an annoyed frown. Seemed like this Turk was someone personal for him, "Good news is that it means he shouldn't be that hard to find."

"Your friend tell you where he is?"

"He's not a friend, and no. But he did give me somewhere to start. Heard tell of another arms deal taking place in a half hour, and if what I was given is right then the one doing it is working for Turk. We...convince him to tell us where his boss is then we'll see just how much Turk knows. With any luck he can give us a name and we can work from there."

"I'm not beating someone down just to get information, FYI," Mayday said. She didn't care what Darkdevil and Uncle Kaine told her, there was always a better option than being a thug.

"I don't expect you to. I think threats'll be good enough." Mayday nodded with a slight hum. Threats she could work with. Daredevil turned his head to Gwen, "And you, Spider-Woman? Sorry, if I'm remembering correctly you're both Spider-Woman, right?"

"Yeah, we're...kinda dealing with it." Mayday sighed. There were only so many Spider themed nicknames you could have before things started to overlap, "Know what, just call me Spider-Girl for now. It's what I went with before switching up." Her way of dealing after her dad died. Even after he came back the name stuck. Made sense; she was 17 years old, hardly a 'girl' anymore.

"If you say. Spider-Woman, do you agree?"

"Sure, whatever. Not like I've got any other plan."

Daredevil tilted his head head slightly, "I'm sorry, did I do something to offend you?"

The mask on Gwen's eyes narrowed again, "No, I'm just in a bad mood." Mayday didn't bother telling her that Daredevil could probably hear her heartbeat. She already knew, "Let's just get this over with, okay? I've got other places to be."

"Fine then."

It didn't take them long to get what they needed. They found their guy, a needly man by the name of Clive Donovan, and whatever lip he gave them lasted only till Daredevil dangled him off the side of a building and threatened to let his head go splat if he didn't tell them what they wanted. To his credit he was convincing enough that almost thought he would drop the guy off the building.

Instead Daredevil dragged him back and smacked the side of his head with the butt of his escrima stick hard enough to knock the guy out, "Should we call the cops?" Gwen asked. She webbed the buyer to the wall while he and Mayday interrogated the dealer. One thing she learned from her years of crimefighting, best to keep a witness on hand to make sure the cops had someone to question. And she doubted the guy wouldn't snitch on Donovan if it meant avoiding jailtime.

"Mm, but we can't stay too long. Rather not let Turk get the chance to run if this guy doesn't call in."

They dialed 911 and waited till they heard sirens down the street before they booked it out of there. According to their recent arrestee, Turk Barret was hanging out of the back of an old fortune teller's. Who'd look at the back of a fortuneteller palace, Donovan said. Mayday had to admit the guy had a point. As far as supervillain lairs went it was pretty unique. Though it couldn't beat the guy who 'hid' on one of New York's premiere penthouses. Made him easy to track, at least.

"So we just bust in there and do the same thing we did with that Donovan guy?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. Turk is a coward, not the type to go for the sacrifice play. Only reason he's survived as long as he has is he knows when to cut his losses."

"Guess blabbers get stabbered isn't a thing in this dimension," Gwen said.

Mayday was about to make a crack about how literally no other dimension said it like that when Daredevil suddenly asked, "Dimension? What do you mean by that?"

Gwen froze for just a second before she responded in the same clipped tone as before, "It's how people my age say cities. You'd know that if you kept up with the times, old timer."

For a second Mayday thought he'd call her out on it. Instead his lips curled in a mock pout and he said, "...I'm not even 40." Gwen's mask lenses blinked and he finally smiled for the first time that night, "Come on, let's get this over with."

Gwen couldn't say anything and just followed after him. Mayday trailed after them both, torn between laughing and clapping Gwen's shoulder sympathetically. She wasn't really sure what Daredevil was like aside from being a good guy. She's asked her dad once, mostly trying to understand what made Darkdevil tick, but he was pretty vague on the details. Apparently Matt Murdock was 'warm but closed off', if that made any sense.

They got to the door and, surprise surprise, it was locked, "Hmm, maybe we should find another-" Gwen stepped past him and kicked it down without a word, "-or we could just do that. I guess the rumors about how strong you were weren't exaggerated."

Gwen didn't respond and just rushed inside with the pair following. There were three doors and they each took a single one to make sure there wasn't anyone else hiding. Mayday opened hers and frowned when she saw the dingy bathroom on the other side, "Yo, what the fuck?!" An unfamiliar voice screamed behind her. Mayday turned and groaned when she looked past Daredevil and saw the room.

Turk Barret was exactly how Daredevil described him. A tall guy with dark skin, a messy beard and not a single hair on his scalp. And he wasn't alone. A pretty woman with red hair who looked like she was in her twenties was next to him on the bed. Judging by her clothes, or lack of them, it was clear she was a...lady of the night, to use the polite term.

"What the hell?! You-" Turk's eyes were as wide as saucers when he saw just who exactly at his door, "Oh fuck this! Ain't doin' this shit again!" He scrambled for his side cabinet, completely ignoring the fact that he was naked and Mr. Johnson was flapping in the wind, and pulled out a revolver. The woman screamed as the would-be arms dealer took aim and Mayday moved to yank the gun away when Gwen shot a line of webbing and pulled the gun with a powerful tug.

Daredevil moved and quickly pinned Turk to the floor while Mayday grabbed the woman and quickly rushed her out the door, "Sorry about this." She webbed the guy's wallet from the cabinet and handed it to her gingerly, "Consider it a tip?" The redhead looked between Mayday, Turk and the wallet in her hand before she took the wallet and hotfooted it out of there.

"'Ey, my wallet! What the fu-"

"Quiet." Turk held up his hands in surrender as Daredevil pressed the tip of the escrima stick against his neck. Mayday and Gwen mostly tried to ignore the guy being in his birthday suit, "I know you've been supplying weapons again."

"What?! I ain't-"

"Don't lie to me." He pressed the escrima stick down harder right where his adams apple was. Turk looked past Daredevil to the both of them with a pleading look in his eyes. Gwen just crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes while Mayday leaned against the wall without a word. She kinda felt bad for the guy but that didn't mean she was going to bail him out, "Your man Donovan talked."

"Donovan?! Don't know anyone like that!"

"Dude, even without super senses I can tell that's a load of bull." Gwen scoffed, "Seriously, just tell us what we wanna know. This isn't pleasant for any of us."

"Where did you get the weapons from?" Daredevil growled. He was really reminding her of Darkdevil right now, "Explosives and guns like that don't come cheap. Give us your source or I start breaking bones!"

"Alright, alright! Fuck!" Daredevil let him go and he tried to cover himself up with the ratty blanket, "Shit, I...I was just tryin' to make a little bread here, ya know?"

"We weren't asking for your reasons, buddy. Start talking," Mayday said.

"Fine. Maybe ya don't know it, devilman, but this shit's your fault." To his credit Daredevil didn't rise to the bait. He just looked down at Turk with his covered eyes, "Ever since you took down Fisk again it's been dog eat dog out in the streets. Ya think the shit he did just goes away? Nah man. All the guns, drugs and money don't just disappear. It's like a pinata, everyone's trying to get a piece."

"Fisk? What's he talking about?" Gwen asked.

"Ya don't know? This guy here put Fisk behind bars twice. And guess what? All that happens is everything turns into a damn free-for-all. What'd ya think'd happen when you put the fatman back in the cage, huh? That everything just goes back to normal, happy endin'? Nah, you ain't that stupid. Everyone's runnin' around with their asses out, even me."

"You're getting off track," Mayday said again, "Tell us where you got those weapons you were peddling. We're not gonna ask again." She was never good at the whole interrogation thing. This was more Noir and Jessica's thing.

"Hell if I know, man! You think I buy this shit straight from the source? I knew a guy who knew a guy. This shit's all tangled up. Don't buy all my stuff from the same guy. That's just askin' to get your ass pinched."

"Give us a list of names. And tell us who you sold any high yield explosives."

"Explosives? Shit, that's all you wanted?!"

"That's not 'all'!" Gwen snapped, "You have any idea how many people could've died if my friends weren't there?" She clenched her fists, "Now spill or else we're gonna chuck you out the window."

"Fine, fine! Twitchy motherfucker, looked like he was on somethin'. Goin' on and on about how his boss was gonna be the big man and if he fucked this up he'd have his balls hangin' over the Empire State."

"Was it this guy?" Mayday pulled out the picture of the would-be bomber from her suit and showed it to him.

"Nah. Older guy, gray in his hair, porn stache." So the guy really was just a hired mercenary. Made sense. Mayday got the feeling the guy wasn't meant to come back considering what he was doing, "Like I said, twitchy son of a bitch. He was...don't think he knew I heard him, but he was mutterin' somethin' under his breath. Something about a Scorpion."

"Scorpion? Sound familiar?" Mayday asked Daredevil.

"No. It's probably a codename of sorts." Daredevil shook his head, "We'll deal with it later. Just give us that list, Turk."

Mayday waited by the entrance as Daredevil and Gwen watched the naked arms dealer write down the names along with a list of addresses. It'd keep them busy for the next couple of days...assuming the guy didn't snitch.

"Tell them anything and we'll know," Daredevil said roughly. Turk nodded quickly and Mayday had to bite her tongue to keep from suggesting a call to the police. A small time dealer was fine but if this Turk guy went down before they checked these places out they'd definitely cut and run. Especially if this guy was as much a snitch as Daredevil said he was.

Gwen was the first to speak when they climbed up to a nearby rooftop, "What did he mean by that? You stopping Fisk, I mean?"

"Didn't see it on the news? I almost forgot, another 'dimension', right?" He smiled slightly. Gwen's eyes narrowed and she just looked at him, "It's...a long story. Wilson Fisk, a man who claimed he was some kind of Kingpin of Crime. We dealt with him, he was put in prison, he made a plea to escape and went back to his old habits. I proved what he did and he's back in prison. Permanently."

"Sure it wasn't a turf war?"

"Spider-Woman..." Mayday said slowly.

"I get the feeling that you don't like me very much. Curious why, I never did anything to you. Even our last fight was due to a misunderstanding."

"...I have my own reasons."

"Which I doubt you're going to tell me. Same as the truth about that dimension slip?" Again Gwen didn't say a word, "Fine with me. Like I said before, we don't have to be friends. As long as we can work together to ensure this Scorpion isn't sending any more suicide bombers across the city you can hate me as you want."

"So should we check out that list?" Mayday said quickly, mostly to try and change the subject.

"Tomorrow. Turk won't tell any of them, too scared of risking his own life, so we should have time. And I have my own things to do. We'll meet in the same place as before. Agreed?"

"Fine with me." Mayday said. Gwen just grunted and nodded without a word. Mayday waited till Daredevil was out of sight - _really_ out of sight considering that super hearing of his - before she turned to Gwen, "I thought you were gonna be cool?"

"What?" she asked back defensively.

"Gwen, that was absolutely the opposite of cool. Daredevil didn't do anything wrong. Heck, you heard that Turk guy. He stopped the Kingpin, like he did in my and a bunch of other universes. He's not the same guy who-"

"I know that!" Gwen snapped. The anger in her voice made Mayday pause, "I know I was being a huge jerk, but...god, I can't just pretend, okay? I can't just pretend that when I hear his fucking voice I don't hear the guy who insulted me after he had Rhino beat my dad to a coma. He was the reason I went to prison getting my shit kicked in for an entire year. And now I'm supposed to just, what, act like everything's cool?"

"You already beat your Murdock. You don't have to dig him up again. That's just what he wants."

They looked at one another without a word. The silence lasted for half a minute before the older Spider sighed and she walked past Mayday to lean across the roof's barrier, "...I'll apologize when we meet up with him tomorrow," she said eventually, "Dunno if I can be cool with him, but I won't start shit. Fair?"

"Fair." Mayday joined her. No matter the dimension the lights of New York was always a constant. It was always the city that never sleeps, "We gotta find whoever this Scorpion guy is and make sure he can't do anything again."

* * *

Peni liked Earth-199999. Sure it was as technologically backwards as every other universe she'd been to but it was nice to wake up knowing she didn't have to fight another kaiju or deal with crazy fanboys like Mysterio. Being here felt like an extended vacation. Hey, it wasn't _her_ fault this dimension's Tony Stark wrecked the dimensional gateways saving the world. She didn't ask to be trapped here any more than Scarlet, Noir or Jessica did.

It didn't mean she wasn't going to enjoy it, though. Think of it like an unplanned vacation.

Peni hummed softly as she typed on the laptop Mr. Cage had given her. Apparently it was bleeding edge as far as this time period was concerned. Nevermind that it had no holographic projectors, no datajacks to log into and she had actually physically type things out with her fingers. SP/ /dr's keyboard was more of a mental exercise than anything. She didn't actually _need_ to type anything on the holographic keys, but moving her muscles allowed her mind to synch her thoughts with the chassis faster.

Oh well, she was getting used to it. Even if it did feel like Dr. Erica Takahashi using an abacus to solve abstract equations.

Her best friend skittered on her shoulder. The two of them were given their own little corner of Harlem's Paradise to give them some room to decode the encryption on the USB. It was...embarrassingly easy. Biggest pain now was waiting for the program she made to decrypt the program while she hacked everything else in the club. The eletronic protection of everything here was disgustingly simple. In 30 minutes she'd tracked down every customer's IP address, backed up some naughty emails to Cloud storage and even tapped into the club's camera system.

And the encryption program still wasn't done.

She tapped through the the various security feeds lazily. Nothing interesting. A few briefcases full of cash exchanged (she wondered how long it'd take this universe to make credsticks and transfer to electronic currency) and a few people getting frisky, but apart from that it was pretty tame. She heard that Mr. Cage took over the club make sure crime was kept away from Harlem so she guessed it made sense.

Made it pretty boring, though.

Loud, measured footsteps came close. Peni looked up with a sickly sweet smile and saw Mr. Cage looking down at her with a forced neutral expression. Her best friend twisted his mandibles and hissed, "Something wrong, Mr. Cage?" she asked, keeping up her smile. She did not forgive him, not at all, but she would bide her time. Then she'd make that stupid, muscly man pay for hurting SP/ /dr. And it would be glorious.

"Just...Just checking in, making sure that everything's alright," he said awkwardly. He felt bad about damaging her mech. Did she feel sorry for him? Heck no. It took her weeks to get even that much done with 21st century technology and then he and his stupid bulletproof hands ruined it. Revenge would be hers and it would be sweet and gratifying. Whoever said revenge was a bad idea clearly never actually did it.

"Totally cool! It should be done in a few minutes." She discreetly shut down all the other taps till the decryption bar was the only one left, "Once we're done with this I can hopefully do a data trace and see if I can find something that'll lead us to whoever's making these."

"Good. That's good." He shifted from one foot to another. Peni's smile hadn't dropped an inch, "Uh, so...that robot you had."

"SP/ /dr."

"Yeah, that. I'm real sorry about that whole thing." Wrecking the chassis after she finally got it working again? Oh, it was no big deal. Like she was pretty sure it'd be no big deal if she leaked those emails of that woman giving him some really gushy nicknames like Harlem's Hercules, "And if, uh, if there's anything I can do to make up for it then don't be afraid to tell me, alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I ain't a tech wizard or anything but if you need help then I'm sure there's something I can do."

"Huh. Can you give me back the two weeks I spent fixing up the chassis without any of my proper tools?" Her tone was as cheery as always but the words cut through his bulletproof skin like an adamantium knife, "Cause lemme tell you, it was _super_ frustrating. You know what it feels like repairing tech that's a thousand years more advanced than anything else around here? Cause it's like repairing a computer by banging rocks into it."

"Huh...well, that's something."

"Sure is!" SP/ /dr crawled down her shoulder and stopped when he was on top of her right hand. Mr. Cage eyed him warily, "Don't worry about it. I'll just fix it again." The progress bar beeped softly and she looked back down at the screen, "Ooh, it's finished!"

She scooted to give Mr. Cage space to sit next to her and did a quick scan of the USB's contents. The tension between them was briefly forgotten as she pored over the contents. As much as she wanted to continue being a hero came first. That was one of the first things Uncle Ben and Aunt May taught her. And big sis, too. She hoped she was doing alright being solo while she was stuck here.

"Any names listed there?"

"Mmm, not that I can see." She tapped a few more files, "No names, but there are components here from different sources. Scarlet told me that the bomb was super high yield so I guess they made it from scratch?"

"Makes sense. Be easier to smuggle in the parts separately and make it themselves instead of risking getting caught with high yield explosives." He scanned the list next to her, "Some of this stuff ain't exactly easy to find. Hmm, maybe I can put some feelers out on the street, see who's selling these things.

Peni nodded and was about to close the files when something else caught her eye, "Chitauri...?" She opened up the image and saw something that looked far more advanced than most other tech she'd seen in this universe. It looked like a weapon of some kind, something like the railgun she had on one of SP/ /dr's more combat heavy frames. It was made of a sleek gray metal with purple energy at the core.

Mr. Cage's eyes narrowed and he shifted in his seat.

"What is this?" Peni asked.

"Don't know it? Guess it makes sense. You were probably too young to remember it." She'd ignore that crack about her age. She hated being treated like a kid, "Ten years ago there was an alien invasion. Government called em Chitauri, but it didn't matter none to us. All we knew was it was a day like any other when this giant hole in the sky opens up and suddenly we've got these crazy things pouring out blasting."

"Hmm." It wasn't like aliens were rare or anything back home. There were a few invasions like the Kree Conflict of 2567 or the Great Badoon Incursion of 2384, but those were long before her time. Nowadays most aliens had free transit and vice-versa. She still remembered their vacation to the Skrull homeworld when she was 10. Shapechangers definitely had the best circuses.

"The Avengers dealt with them and the government scooped up all of the alien stuff that was left. Or at least they tried." His face pinched and he rubbed his shoulder briefly, "That much tech layin' around, obvious someone would take advantage. Got tangled up with someone who used em to make bullets and I even heard rumors about a flying birdman who was selling them on the street."

"If it's on this file then do you think that means the guy who made these bombs has this too?"

"Might be, but if they do then it makes things more complicated. No offense, but no matter how advanced that robot of yours is any one of these things'll blast it to the moon, no doubt."

"Happen to you too?"

"Mhm." He rubbed his shoulder again before standing up, "Come on, I'll walk you back to the station."

"I'm fine by myself." Even without SP/ /dr she was taught self-defense. They didn't want her helpless without a mech.

"I don't doubt it but I'm still coming with." He smiled down at her. For a second she almost forgot to be mad at him for ruining all her hard work. Almost, "Don't worry, I know you wanna keep where you're living a secret. I respect that. Just wanna make sure you don't get mugged on the way to the train."

"A-Alright then..." She stuffed the laptop into her backpack (he said she could keep it for research and she already checked it for any tracking apps) and walked with him to the station. They made an odd pair. Harlem's premier crime boss and a teenager who barely came up to his waist. Whatever, it wasn't like it was the first time. She got stares whenever she visited Benjamin too...though that might've been because she was the only one with actual color in that universe.

Spider sat atop her head and continued to hiss at Luke all the way to the train station. Peni said her goodbyes and opened the laptop again as soon as she took a seat. Chitauri...never heard of them before, but names did have a habit of changing across dimensions. Still, it was giving her ideas. She'd ask Peter if he knew anything about this. Alien tech was always so fascinating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done. Peni's segments went through some changes. Originally she was much more vitriolic and reminiscent of Kaguya-sama with how she spitefully cursed and insulted Luke in her thoughts. I decided to make her much calmer but also a tad more spiteful up until the end where Luke temporarily manages to make her forget about her undying rage.
> 
> Like I said above the next chapter will be with the remaining two groups.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. Who do you guys want to have the POV for each segment? MCU Peter or Scarlet for their segment? Jessica Drew or Noir for their segment? No Defenders POV since this is a Spider based story.
> 
> 2\. Should I keep up the pace of giving alternate Spiders the POV or cut down and focus more on just MCU Peter and Gwen. I know a lot of people came here to read about those two and might not care for the other trapped Spiders.

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter done. Unless anyone has any objections the first arc will be focused on interacting with some street level heroes like the Defenders. I know a bunch of people want Avengers interactions but...well, how would that work? Hawkeye's retired to the farm, Steve's old, Widow/Stark are dead and Thor went off to space. The closest I can think of for interactions are maybe Hulk, Pepper and Scarlet Witch.
> 
> I also had Peter and Gwen hide their relationship/the identities of the other Spiders despite the two month timeskip so we can have some interaction for that. It would've bummed some people out if the whole 'I'm dating Spider-Woman' thing happened off-screen.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1\. Would you guys mind if I included Spiders besides Peter and Gwen on the Europe trip? I could definitely involve Jessica since she has agent training and Talos!Fury would consider her useful due to her previous SHIELD experience.
> 
> 2\. Besides the Avengers who do you guys wanna see interacting? I have at least one reader who wants May interacting with Mayday, Noir and Jessica Drew due to their identities, for example.


End file.
